Shielding Alliance

""Defending those in need."

Florent looks at the other party members, puzzled by their silence. He shrugs his shoulders and takes their silence for acquiescence, strapping on the javelin sling. “So we forge ahead then, No?”

Turtle looks around at her companions. “The map must reach the side of good and the sooner it does, the more lives it may save. It is hopeless to try and confront a demoness at this point. We need to get the map to Burns, buy magic that will affect slimes and demons, and see if we can do any research on our foes. I will not go down into the next level until those things are done.” She stands firmly against a wall.

OOG: Florent adds a George Michael “Gotta Have Faith” dance into his ‘I Told You So’.

IFH: (In Florent’s Head) Florent looks into the weapons closet and sings the praises of Helm. As the stakes get higher and the Temple more deadly, the party is becoming stressed and edgy. All he wanted to do was follow the will of Helm, and yet his companions were so filled with doubt. The she warrior grumbled and pouted. The half elf made some grand speech about how he doesn’t trust me. Such fear, doubts, and lack of faith. But they could not hear your voice. They cannot know the peace that comes with direct communication with you, O mighty Protector. “Stay true, Be Brave”. You imprinted these words on my heart, and I will cling to them now, when the evil of this place seeks to disrupt our communion. I will stay vigilant. I will stay true. I will be brave.

“Praise be to ‘Elm!” Florent proclaims for the tenth time. His smiling face turns from the weapons closet to the party with the joy of vindication. “No I say to you that ‘Elm would provide? You worry that they are no magical, but they will be just what we need, you wait and see.” Florent picks up one of the javelins and tests its balance. “I am no so good with a sword or a bow as some of you, but I think I could throw one of these with some force. ‘Ow you want to divide these weapons?”

Treveylan looks again at the zealous youth. “I do not think that any of these (pointing directly at the weapons) are the weapon your god referred to. What were his words… exactly? Did he not mention the “lands of good”? Perhaps while he spoke to you, there was more emphasis on certain words in his statement? Perhaps, and I suspect that we may be right in our guess, that this Map is the true weapon. Knowledge, above all things is, a more potent weapon, especially when it reveals your enemy. Without knowledge all
that we have, all that we do, is nothing. We would have no armor, no weapons, no magic, no food, no life. While these physical weapons might help us, I am not sure that they are what your god was referring to. But I am sure you will not listen to my wisdom either as you are brash and blind in your devotion. Gods may word their desires, but those words may also need to be deciphered. Anything simply stated is not necessarily the true meaning… perhaps the words are a play upon themselves?” He turns to see if anyone else might believe this to be possible.

“Even though we have found these weapons, I feel that we have somehow missed something. While we have the time, perhaps we can do a more thorough search, to be sure that nothing was left unturned; nothing has gone unchecked.”

wherein our band has to once more decide whether to push on or recoup

Pertinax, “This was a tough fight, but I am inclined to attempt to find a safe spot to rest here on this level and then press on. I don’t know what else we could hope to accomplish on the second level. That priest of air seems to have finished the job on our behalf.”

Turtle nudges a now motionless helmet with a toe. “I know that you’re all impressed with my speed as is,” she quips dryly, “so I think I’ll stick to the chain shirt and leave the ‘swapping armor with the forces of evil’ routine to Florent.” She blows a raspberry at him. Straightening her hair. “Pertinax, I am worried if these mere animated guards were immune to your Art that the demoness will be also unaffected. In fact, did we not see evidence of TWO demons?” She shakes her head again. “Where would we camp? In the room with the evil tiled Floor of Death or in the room with the earthen ground, that Something Hideous will no doubt erupt horridedly from?” She shakes her head again. “I don’t think there is any ‘safe spot to rest’ in these parts,” Turtle says, with an eye fixed toward the darkness. I’d much rather hike back up to at least the previous so we can have, if nothing else, a height advantage. And I thought there was still one passageway, albeit filled with water, that we might investigate further.”

“Well, it certainly seems to me like we need a vote. Do we return to the upper levels now or do we stay at this level and attempt to rest here or perhaps even push on? Just because these two recent creatures were resistant to magic does not mean that others will be. In any case, my bow seems to work fine on other creatures. I am far from useless even without the use of my magics.”

“Florent, how much magic did you use in this encounter? I still have quite a bit left. I vote that we stay in this level and either push on if our magics are not depleted or we find a relatively safe spot to rest. I believe the upper levels hold little more for us to do, flooded passageways notwithstanding.”

“Well, they would be safer than an unexplored level home to at least one demon.” Turtle shrugs. “Resting down here would be pointless, as sooner or later something from one of the numerous evil rooms would interrupt our sleep, catching us when we’re most defensible. But even if Florent has a lot of magic left, it would be wise to approach this part of our campaign with caution- with the elemental temples effectively destroyed or disbanded, the slime demon is stuck down here without arms or legs.” Turtle does her best impression of a quadrapelgic.

“I think rushing ahead at this stage is reckless; if things are immune to magic, then magic which affects us through Elven speed or Helm blessing need to be prepared as much as possible. Perhaps you can advise us on the nature of demons Pertinax, so that we have some idea of what we’re up against.” Turtle looks hopefully to the elf for him to avoid a TPK.

Pertinax, “Using caution is always a good course of action, but we must also advance at some point. Powerful demons share some things in common, for example it is wise to use weapons that have been aligned with a good power
and preferably made of cold iron. That is used against the most powerful demons. The problem is that others, which we might call devils, are susceptible to different materials like alchemical silver. Until we know more about our specific foe we won’t be able to predict much about it’s weaknesses. That is why we must push on, to investigate more. The bottom line is that we don’t know what we need to defeat the Demoness and the answer must lie down here.”

Pertinax then points to the room with the door few people can look at.

“Besides, I think the Demoness is still bound behind those doors with the magical wards. It only makes sense. Otherwise we’d be dead already.”

Florent feels as if their success is a sign

Didius and Pertinax exchange relieved looks after the last of the animated suits of armor is on the floor. “I am getting tired of all these critters that my magic can’t seem to affect. Thank Corellon for my Fine Elven Wood!” Pertinax taps his bow, ignoring Florent’s juvenile laughter. Pertinax moves closer to the heaps of metal and casts the spell to detect dweomers.

“Mes Amis, those guardians were tres difficile. Think you that it was their animation that made them so strong and difficile to ‘it, or the enchantment on the armor. Pertinax, are the suits still detecting strong… exaltation, as you say they were before?” Florent bends to examine the fallen heaps of plate mail. “I ‘ave say before that ‘Elm provides. Look ‘ow well Lareth’s armor work for moi, before I find this new suit I wear. Sure it looks evil, but eet is the ‘eart that matters, the faith, no the exterior. If there is armor intact and useable, I would like for you to examine eet with your fancy glasses and say to me eef eet is another gift of ‘Elm.” Florent gets a now familiar gleem of blind, fanatic faith in his eyes as he starts to imagine himself bringing destruction to the enemies of Helm in their own armor.

“Turtel, mon amis, you can no let yourself get discouraged so quickly. No I say to you that ‘Elm would provide? Why don’t you try on some of this new armor that Vigilant ‘as given us. It will ‘elp you come out of your shell.” The teen priest obviously thinks he’s hilarious. “But you know we can no go back. The evil lies ahead and we must stamp it out. Plus, I no think we ‘ave way of going back anyhow. So onward, my charges. Let us strike a fisted blow for ‘Elm for the ages.” Florent strikes a pose and looks back to see if Didious is taking notes.

Turtle shakes her head. “No doubt the Watcher would be pleased that despite fighting mindless opponents, who had no special abilities, and whom we KNEW were going to attack us, we were hard pressed to win. In fact, we needed to use much of our higher magics. I believe we are not yet ready to be down here, and should go back to the second level until we are better prepared.”

She seems sullen.

“Oui, I ‘ave most of ‘Elm’s blessings at my disposal. We are ‘ealthy, for the most part, and I am no for going back. Turtel, when you assume the demon is trapped, you make an ass out of me… no wait, ‘ow does that saying go? Anyway, I no think I can climb that rope to get back to higher level anyway, so I say we forge ahead. Time to ‘ike up that chain mail skirt of yours, Turtel. Too much caution is cowardice.”

Don't drop acid; I mean, no drop moi into the acid, si vous plait.

Waves of evil wash over Florent as he edges around the precipice. Normally he is not bothered by heights, but the unease of the place has added a sense of vertigo. Making fun of the skittish half-elf is easier than acknowledging his own fears. Still, there do seem to be advantages from their current vantage point. Higher ground is always a plus. The wall of the corridor on both sides that did not fall away provides cover, and would allow the group to spread out. It also seems like this is their only way to proceed. Florent still struggles to know if he is doing the will of Helm in situations where a quick decision is necessary. Was it good sense and prudence to back away from the powerful cleric, and let his destroy the middle level of the temple? Destroying the temple certainly is one of Florent’s, and most likely, Helm’s goals. But he also let collapse tunnels and retreat without a challenge. Should he have attacked and at least tested the cleric’s ability to maintain such spells and defend himself? Doubts plague Florent, but doubts have no place in the heart of a man of faith, do they? Florent shakes his head to clear these esoteric musings. Focus. Be Vigilant. Helm will provide.

Turning to the group, Florent addressese the Alliance. “Mes Amis. ‘Elm ‘as provided once again with this storehouse. My suggestion is that we spread out along the ledge and then lower a lamp into the darkness. We ‘ave ‘igher ground, and can perhaps lure something out to learn more. Retreat is a problem with this whole cave-in thing, but I no want to retreat anyway. Evil must be crushed.”

OOG: This would definitely be one of those times when I would have reloaded the last save point and then attacked Tornado Tom (aka the High Priest of the Air Temple) just to see if he could be beat or retreating was the wise choice afterall. I love the non-linear sense of the adventure path, knowing that we can take the story in different directions. I am hoping this baby stays in the oven for at least a few more weeks so she gets bigger and so I can see where this story goes.

OOC: I’m not sending this to Luke (it might overfill his inbox) or Brian, as Furnock is apparently at the bar & Treveylan is doing his Bill Bixby impersonation.

As the ranger leaves, Turtle mutters a few choice curse words in Elvish, hands still squeezing the chair tightly. When he’s gone, she relaxes a bit, pouring yet another flagon of water, anger cooling as she drinks. “Talk about presuming.” She rolls her eyes. “The nerve.” Slam of an empty mug. “Right. Moving on. Didius, I’d very much appreciate any help you could provide, as maybe music along with the charisma-enhancing magic will soothe the savage beasts. I subdued a temple follower early on named Chan a misguided sort who could easily be returned to the fold. The other is a bit tougher.” Leaning back. “His name is Feldron and he is associated with a guild of cut throats to the north. Still, I find him honorable, and keep a slim possibility that he’s redeemable. It won’t be easy for either, but an hour a day for each while we’re here should do the trick. If you help, no matter what the result, I’ll compensate your time with a small magical item of protection.” Turtle holds a hand up to prevent a refusal.

“I insist. We’ve got to keep our resident bard around for our deeds to be shared no?” Turning to her brother. “I assume you’ll be scribing that vision scroll for our sensitive friend.” OOC: it’ll take 1 day to study it and 1 day to do the actual scribing. “But can you also spend some time researching demons and slimes? What made me laugh before was the idea of being worried about simple villagers but not preparing adequately for the slime demon.” She shrugs. “I myself would rather fight the whole population of Knulb than a slime demon.” There is a despondent look in her eyes. “We’ve had much success but I fear this foe will be beyond us.” Her expression is grim. Bashfully grim.

Furnock watches the arguing with his mouth agape and his eyes wide. Then he shakes his head and heads for the bar to get another beer.

STEVE RESPONSE:
OOC: There should be a tie-in with what Furnock did/didn’t do the night before. Chris can even do it, but email-wise, we last left off with Pertinax going upstairs to knock on Furnock’s door as umm, it was likely the rogue was not going to rise early given what had happened. (also not sure that we all have separate rooms, but hey, sounds more dramatic that way)

PS OOG: All that arguing about very little fills up my email box

STEVE RESPONSE:
As far as reducing emails, Roberto has mentioned having a message board for the group. Until then, we could stick brief labels in the subject line to help sort out the emails:

1. nothing but a title if its 'in game' action/dialogue
2. an 'OOC' prefix if the email is game-related, but from you, rather than your character
3. an 'OOG' prefix if its not about Sunday sessions at all

Didius, who has been very quiet while sipping some juice from a goblet, says: “If possible, could I be present during this attempt to convert the criminals? I would like to dedicate at least one song in what surely will be my magnum opus to this pursuit.”

Turtle nods emphatically, then pauses. “Well, if its ok with Treveylan.” She looks over towards the ranger bashfully.

Turning to Turtle, “Please do not attempt to use your feminine wiles on me,

(Turtle’s mouth drops)

..they will do little to convince me to turn the evil doers. Just be forthcoming and do not try to be coy about it.”

(She looks angry and her hands clench the chair)

“I dislike when I am used as a pawn of anyone’s ideas. If you want me to help, ask for my help. Do not try to gain my assistance with foolishness.”

(Her eyes squint together and you hear the chair cracking)

“We are a team and should treat each other as such. I will help, but if at any point it seems hopeless, I may rescind my efforts. Chan is probably more akin to our efforts, whereas Feldron may be much more difficult to turn to the light. he may be lost forever already.”

STVE OOG:
Dude, you TOTALLY have the wrong meaning for that word.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bashfully

(Turtle sits, stewing angrily for a minute before closing her eyes and muttering Holy verses to herself as Treveylan walks out)

Watching Treveylan walk away from the breakfast table Florent gleefully joins in the conversation: “Turtel you two timing whore! ‘Ow you flirt with the ‘alf-elf when you’ve just given me your apple core. Everyone knows this is universal invitation to plant my seed in you.” Florent then ducks to avoid the anticipated flying projectile sent his way. ‘Ow come we ‘ave woman who acts more like man in this party, and male ‘alf-elf who acts more a woman? Good work on stirring up pot without me. Nothing like morning drama to start off the day!”

Pertinax “Perhaps, but I think the disadvantages outweight the advantages. In any case, this is empty rhetoric until we have an actual proposed course of action regarding Nulb.” “Speaking of which, we need Furnock. I will check his room.”

Pertinax walks up to Furnock’s room an knocks on the door.

STEVE OOG:
Roberto had this in another email, but given Treveylan’s abruptly leaving, I thought it made more sense for the elf to wait. ‘berto, what do you think? btw, Pertinax was replying ‘perhaps in response to Turtle’s idea of having some members check out Nulb.

SOOOOO…then we move on to the player discussion of this.

BRIAN:
Not if you have been giving him grief about much of what he does a good portion of the campaign, I don’t. {have wrong definition of ‘bashful’)

STEVE RESPONSE:
the major source of grief for Treveylan is Florent, period. trying to say Turtle picks on him ‘a good portion of the campaign’ is wacky. hell, she just stood up for him 30 seconds ago in game when Pertinax made a comment.

BRIAN:
He does not know if you are using it to try to sway him to your side of the perspective, or not.

STEVE RESPONSE:
the ‘it’ being her tits? I think you confused ‘bashfully’ with ‘batted’’ as in ‘bat your eyes’ at someone. if I was going to have a character make a seductive pass, I would use a lot more description for the body language. i get how you thought Pertinax was being sarcastic (hell, I thought it too) but I’m taken-aback why you’d think she’d suddenly prostitute herself. thats nothing like how I’m trying to play this character.

so kids, to be crystal, PLEASE let the record reflect that Turtle was NOT flirting with Treveylan. She was reluctant to impose on him and not sure how to ask for a favor. That’s it. Only the goal of saving these schmuck’s souls kept her from flipping out. Hey, thats what women do when you say insensitve shit like; “Vasectomy? In another few years you’ll hit menopause”

BRIAN:
As your character has griped about his (Treveylan’s) lineage, the rope of climbing and many other things, he treats much of what Turtle says as baited.

STEVE RESPONSE:
THATS how you remember my character?! Not for any of the plethora of good ideas/tactics/party changers?!

You suck. Turtle has a kick-ass resume.

ROBERTO:
Man, I love e-roleplaying.

Priceless!

ROBERTO:
In all fairness, regardless of the dictionary
definition, appearing to be bashful is a time-honored
flirting technique. The question is whether Turtle is
genuinely bashful or putting the moves on Treveylan.
I’m guessing Treveylan bombed his sense motive check
here though.

Pertinax: “Perhaps another option would be to magically contact our allies but that could be hard to do without attracting attention to them.”

Turtle nods. “I’m sure those ‘old hags’ already have some system for reporting in, but I’m curious as to what, if anything they’ve learned so far. Have our activities produced any noticeable changes in Nulb?” She flicks an apple core at Florent. “Furnock would have better ideas for spying than me, yet after beating down giants I’m not scared of some bandits. It was one thing to scurry through there when we were greenhorns, but if it saves time going through there, we go through there and woe be the bandits foolish enough to challenge us.”

LUKE OOG:

I remember the Hommolet-cleric-Helm-dude (I forgot his name) being concerned about not hearing from his boss one of the ‘hags’. So I don’t believe the town has contact with the ‘hags’.

STEVE RESPONSE:

Yeah, that sounds vaguely familiar, ala the door that we couldn’t go through that Brian was talking about

Pertinax, “Well, it’s one thing to not be scared and quite another to invite aggression. We don’t know what kind of forces are in Nulb. A planned ambush, given that they know how we like to fight, could be quite deadly.”

Turtle bursts out laughing. “I’m sorry, but that’s just funny since we’re always racing off to hunt down a slime demon.”

Pertinax looks perturbed. “I’m not sure why you find this amusing. Defeating the temple is our self-appointed mission and we return to fight the evil we know is there. That’s quite different than inviting fights in Nulb too when we may not have to.”

“So we’re worried about bandits, but not demons?” Turtle shrugs again. “There’s advantages and disadvantages to splitting our forces. Our party sure has grown from when I started. Any more people join and we can have a whole other team. Maybe inky can lead it.” She crunches on some more toast. “And one day Chan, or even Feldron could be a part of what we do.”

Pertinax, “If Treveylan can’t move them to repent with his
honeyed tongue then no one can.” Pertinax says.

Turtle frowns. “I know you’re being sarcastic, but Treveylan was the one who was able to convince Meelub that our mutual arrangement for discounts deserved that 3,000 (?) gp larger scale. Heck, even though it was my idea, it’d never have gone anywhere without him speaking it.”

OOC: Turtle is talking about how we’ll get the 10% bonus to buying/selling for items up to, I believe a 6,000 gp cap. A major coup for us financially.

“Turtle, I was not being sarcastic. Treveylan may
have a temper that gets the better of him sometimes
but there is no question that when he is focused he is
a very good negotiator.”
Turtle holds up her hands in mock defense, appearing skeptical.

Treveylan, “Pertinax, your sarcasm is duly noted. While I was able to gain us a better deal with Meelab, if not without the team it could not have been done. The deal was agreed at 6000gp… I was hoping for 8000, but 6000 is no small sum either,” he smiles.

Pertinax, “As I said before, I wasn’t being sarcastic. I may give you a hard time on account of you being nobility
and all but your skill at diplomacy is evident.”

Treveylan, ””My apology, I appreciate your faith in my ability. As for my nobility…
Trust me, I am no more noble than the next man, elf, orc… whatever. I’m just the being I am, no more, no less.”

Looking a bit more humbled, ” I am sorry that my debt had slipped my mind… it was an error. There is much I am thinking about and how to best attack the temple. I still have some coin, but if it takes giving up all my coin to make some sense of restitution, I will.” He gets up to leave, “I will be around town, if you need me look near the druids grove, or near the woods around town.”

Early the next morning Turtle strides over to the group’s tavern table for breakfast, shields in tow, dabbing her brow. “I’ve been up for a bit, doing a run.” She carefully sets the spiked weapons down before plopping down. “There’s some sense in maintaining our adventuring routine to make sure the Alliance does not lose the edge that keeps us alive.” She chugs some water and begins chowing eggs. “Did anyone hear from Furnock?” A quick look around. “That spider cloak probably came in handy. I myself am taking the boys,” a foot tap one of the spike in the tail of the celestial manticores, “over to the armorer for an upgrade.” Pausing to chew, she continues, “The enchantments will take the ten days to animate the mouths to attack on their own accord, almost as good as my own combat ability. One day I hope to have the wings themselves move, flying me into battle. Until then, this is a crucial improvement, much needed to hold the line.”

She butters up three pieces of bread. “So I’m glad that Helm blessed us with his divine grace and that his boy devotee, has developed wisdom enough for us to revitalize. This leg will be crucial towards our success and we must use this lull in the fighting properly.” Moving onto some picked fruit, she chomps on an apple. “Pertinax will no doubt spend time copying the Knock, Enhancer, and Darkvision spells into his book. It would be nice to have Slow available to us as well, but the Wand of Healing was necessary. Of course we could always sell that wonderful rope.” A brief smile. “Onto a tense subject, as far as debt goes, I’d like to suggest that we set aside argument about this until the next time we come across enough treasure to split, but agree to maintain more obvious records until then.” She reaches for the pitcher and refills her cup. “Please let it be on the record that I loaned our resident Elven wizard 703 gold for the magical inks. He’ll calculate what the scrolls themselves cost and let us know. Now that no one will be wearing that nice cloak from our friends at the Temple, Florent’s record is safe.”

A brief bow. “The Watcher protects, when he is listened to. Perhaps Florent can request additional guidance from Him before we go back.” She shrugs. “At this point we seem to not understand what exactly is going on, especially with this latest revelation of another dark side in the Temple play- that Sultan who the giants were working for. I still say that there is a connection somehow between Knulb and the Slime Demon’s forces that we should investigate.” Leaning forward. “Maybe this is something a few of us can check out during the week. Or even do a little reconnaissance on the Temple itself.” Another hunk of bread, washed quickly down with some water. “Meanwhile, if Treveylan can borrow the charisma-aiding magic and wouldn’t mind helping me speak with Feldron and Chan for an hour a day, perhaps that might be the light which brings their conversion. Will you think on assisting me? Please?” Her eyes shine brightly, yet she appears bashful at requesting the favor.

We were all pretty tired, and since Dan had awarded us 200 XP apiece for the email roleplaying we did the weeks before, (some of which I mentioned previously) we kept to town.

The Alliance sold stuff, bought stuff, dropped stuff off at the armorer’s, and at some point Furnock went off using his new spider cloak to do his own sneaky-sneak, aided by Elven Dextrousness right before a revelrie. Too bad that new fuzzy cloak did not come with spider sense, as he became poisoned (alas, not via a spider) but he avoided a poisoned gas bladder plus survived the whole deal, so he got XP- catching up!

Florent, aided by his Jiminey Crickett Phylactery of No Torture, (i.e. a Phlactery of Faithfulness that Turtle has bought him to help keep him on the straight & narrow) left to go to Helm’s house, although he heard of the plan to check out the shady trader’s shack and warned against it. Pertinax, Turtle, Treveylan knew of the plan/went to sleep. In game, they are not yet aware of him being poisoned, although when he wakes up the next morning all green and spitting up blood…

So that morning when we wake up will officially be Day 1 in town, and Day 3 (?) away from the Temple.

Just so I’m sure, a couple of weeks ago, we ambushed the ambushers, chopped off the hill giant heads, made a stretcher for the dead sorcerer, voted about going back to town via emails such as flying sparks and Leave it to a woman.. Along the way, the Alliance saw the lights of a caravan, Treveylan did sneaky-sneak, the party met a wealthy female merchant, Lady Safeton, and her 200 person entourage headed for Baldur’s Gate. Treveylan gave them some wine/gifts & we explain what we’ve learned, along with informing them of the death of the Elven lady, who Safteon knew and was sad to hear about. Their cleric used Speak With Dead to ask the sorcerer 4 or 5 questions, one of which he asked personally but did not share with us what the deal was. Through this spell, info on a Temple connection to a sheik-like figure was gained. (Its not a pasha, maybe a vizier?) We stayed with them for a little bit, but then broke camp and made for town.

At this point things get a bit fuzzy.

I’m not sure what time we arrived, but we did 3 things right away when we hit Hommlett: 1) stopped at Rufus & Burns to report in. we asked them (among other things) if they had heard of sheik-guy and if knew who our mysterious benefactor was. they answered ‘nay’ to both. 2) we stopped by the Druid’s Oyster Farm and pro-curred several pearls so as to identify stuff. 3) it was time to go to Meelab the MoneyChanger’s, and he showed us, among other things, a discounted spider cloak, tarantula model.

On the 13th, Brian sends out the list of gear, Gear and value, which gets revised later on, Bookkeeping, Shielding Alliance style , and then revised again Recalculating the recalculation: sans couverture, when its clarified that we do not actually own the spider cloak yet & Pertinax decides maybe its not the best idea to put on a cloak coming off a medusae statue in an evil temple. {I believe that you guys found the statues the Sunday I spent on the floor of Dan’s bathroom}

The human steel is alright but it is no match for the Fine Elven Steel is the first real ‘in game’ discussion about the treasure along with Roberto’s re-cap including frustration with the gifts. (Hopefully that 4,700+ will buy some serious goodwill down the road) This is apparently done late at night around a tavern table. Then we have discussion about when to return to the temple, “and then you could enlarge it during combat” which was Florent’s usual ‘let’s go now’ but then we focus on the medusae cloak again in Elven Rewind, ””Hell has three gates: lust, anger, and greed”, and Of identify and bad things .

From there we move onto talking about getting the spider cloak fund drive for the cloak, with Turtle trying to see if we can do it & then Florent listening to her suggestion via Baby Mama Drama to use Woe/Well spell, checking divinely to see if putting on the cloak is ok.

We are still in town… Florent did some augury with Helm and had the
following questions answered:
Is the Cloak from the Medusa Statue cursed? (long story short…YES)

Should we head back to the Temple immediately? No.. (OOG: Helm thinks it
wise to replenish our stocks and upgrade our gear, as we will need it to
fight our enemies…) It would seem that Helm and the Wunderkind Florent differ in opinion and strategy. Florent still thinks that Helm can’t quite be right (can’t wait to see Helm smite him)

We will be staying in town for slightly more than a ten day for upgraded
gear…

Pertinax wrote some spells in his book (with donations from the team):

Darkvision
Knock
Rary’s Mnemonic Enhancer

We also bought a Wand (Cure Light Wounds)

So, we are still in town…. waiting for our gear to be completed

Thanks for the recap.

ROBERTO: So, it was cursed. And I already was picturing
Pertinax in his beautiful cloak of resistance. I
think we should still grab the stuff in that room but
then use augury to see if the identifies are giving
out an erroneous signal. Just 5 more levels until
Pertinax can do Analyze Dweomer!

Oh well. I might upgrade mine after I am out of debt. Thanks to all that donated to have the scrolls added to my spellbook.

BRIAN: Treveylan will probably ask for darkvision quite often so that he can scout ahead… His new upgraded armor will make him beddy sneaky… (or more so than before)

ROBERTO: That would be fine. Darkvision is one of those spells
with decent duration at 1 hour per caster level. That would be 8 hours for the time being.

DAN: speaking of debt…...Trevaylan?

BRIAN: What about it? yeah he still owes money… but there was no constraints or limits as to when it needed to be paid back. And yes he upgraded his gear before paying back on the debt still outstanding

ROBERTO: I’m confused. What’s going on?

DAN: ooooooooooh, you’re in trouble…........

BRIAN: Hardly in trouble, I think.

Treveylan upped his armor before paying part of the debt down… though
none of you would know this IN GAME… as I had mentioned it as a player
afterward. I had nearly forgotten about the debt, but saw the note in my
folder after the decisions were made.

I can always have his armor reduced to +1… paying back 2000 gp toward his
debt.

[OOC: as there had not been a set time frame as to when debts were paid
back, I thought it would be best to up his armor as he is taking on more of
the Scout aspect and is sneaking ahead to search out the areas ahead]

ROBERTO: well… I may be remembering things wrong but when we
voted on whether to allow party debt we also voted on
when and how that debt would be repaid. We
established that debt has to be paid as soon as
possible and before you can spend any future shares of
treasure, which is why Florent didn’t actually get any
gold until the time that his debt was paid off.

Has this been changed since?
How much does he owe? And the characters do have
knowledge of how much debt the others have accrued.
Pertinax keeps immaculate and meticulous books. It is
I who doesn’t follow things as closely as he does.

DAN: The ensorcellment has started. Ending it now would ruin it.

ROBERTO: Indeed. These dealings will have to apply to future gold.

BRIAN: I had forgotten about the debt (player error) but as I was pulling out docs from my folder, saw the sheet I placed in there to remind me.

He owes 4041gp and will pay it all in full on his next cut (or as much as
he can afford) (It was a player error, and I am sorry about that… it
won’t happen again)

But as far as repaying the gold back right away, I do not recall ever
settling on a time frame. Unless this was decided while I was in Florida
for my brothers wedding back in February.

CHRIS: The old ‘I forgot I was in debt’ trick. Likely story. Not to be confused with the “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back, Furnock” until you remembered your alignment. Sounds awfully republican to me. Are you sure Treveylan’s not from Texas?

Kudos to the DM for stirring up the pot.

Perhaps you should write down player debt somewhere in the first ten pages of your character sheets, instead of the pps 31-40

Florent says, “Leave it to the nobility to forget ‘e’s in debt, and then question when ‘e ‘as to pay it back. So rich that trivial things like 4000 gold slip your mind? Where is the ‘onor?”

That is funny stuff.

BRIAN: And to clarify… I said I would go with him, but realized that there might be a better way to go about getting into the building.

Furnock went ahead without him, without looking to see if Treveylan was on
board or not. So all the blame is not with Treveylan…

but he will accept all the blame for everything up to this point

ROBERTO: Somehow I don’t think this was covered in the recap.
what building? what are you guys talking about?

BRIAN: Oh yeah… we were going to see if the crooked Shop keep, raymoss, might have had anything to do with the temple. Furnock was going to sneak/break in, but Treveylan decided it would not be wise to break in. Perhaps a key could be found?

In any case Treveylan had a few drinks at the inn, while Furnock went on
with is business. Furnock got poisoned by a trapped box, but survived and
had to sleep it off for 7 days to regain his ability.

ROBERTO: What are the chances that the authorities or raymoss
noticed this little side trek by Furnock?

BRIAN: Not sure about the authorities… but Raymoss has not been in town for a while

Treveylan: “I was merely stating a point, I am not angry. I have no problem with shelling out coin if that be the case… as I agree to better know the item is best for all. Don’t your magics tell you all there is about the
properties of the item you look at Pertinax? As you are a great mage, who studies the Art, I would think you would be able to assess any item we come across.”

“I don’t know if Helm’s priests will be able to fully
analyze this dweomer (OOC: Get it? analyze dweomer?).
We might need either Rufus or someone at the Gate or
in the Deep who can help us.”

Turtle nods. “Actually I meant having Florent use a divination to auger {OOC: augury, get it?} with Helm to see whether putting on the cloak would bring Weal or Woe.”

“Treveylan, to answer your question, the Art
enchanment that I use to identify the properties of
magical items is a very simple spell that even
apprentices know. With practice you learn more about
the auras but if someone attempts to hide a curse on
an item it is hard to detect with such a simple spell.
You need a more powerful divination to know for
sure.”

OOC:Some cursed items are what they are and as such
can be identified with the first level spell without
difficulties. Some appear as something useful with a
simple identify though. There is a 1% per caster
level chance of catching such hidden curse with
identify. That leaves Pertinax with a mighty 8% chance
of catching a hidden curse. Analyze dweomer will catch
them but that’s a 6th level spell. Market price to
get someone of high enough level to cast it for us is
660 gp without counting any market effects.

”’Ow I love le drama! This group is never dull, praise be to ‘Elm.” Turning to the Medusa cloak Florent pretends to study it. “Oui, I could ask for ‘Elm for general guidance regarding cloak. I also ‘ave greater depth of prayer to get more specific advice regarding putting on cloak, given time to prepare.”

I also took out the cloak of arachnida, which it turns out we do not have
(silly me).

hey, points for the silence-silence effort. I’m sure Chris was proud.

Furnock now has 4188.8 for his
frilly shirt, booze and the kind of women Florent
wishes he was getting it on with. Not enough for that
cloak of tarantula he had his eye on though.

At a lull in the meal, Turtle excuses herself and goes outside. A few minutes later she walks in, her hands holding something. She opens them up to reveal a tiny captured spider, letting it crawl around her hands and onto the table. “I think it wise to see if we can get Furnock that magical spider cloak. For starters, the things is discounted 2,000 gold only because its furry. Since it lets him go onto walls at will, we sadly have more need for that Rope of Climbing.” A mock dramatic sigh here. “Selling the rope would bring us {60% of 3,000 gp} and with Furnock’s current amount left over, plus whatever loot he is still holding onto, should get us at least half-way. More if he’s been gambling lately.” A quick wink.

OOG: Furnock’s sheet lists 1,683 GP + 12 PP + a ‘flawed diamond’ for 1,000 gp, so he does have half just by himself.

“Given how close he is, plus how this cloak will not only let him move around webs, but actually cast one too- as well as help keep him safe from spider bites- I’m making a motion that we kick in to get him the cloak. It fits both his style and expands our tactics.”

ROBERTO:
OOC:I think it’s worth considering but Luke needs to
first decide whether he is going to use all of the
gold he has accumulated to buy the cloak. Chris
already said that Florent will pitch in his extra gold
for whomever needs it. Of course, Pertinax doesn’t
have any extra gold.

DAN:
He also needs to decide if we wants to be caught dead in public wearing the wretched thing.

LUKE:
I’m imagining the spider cloak sorta like a giant furry pimp’s cloak. Which is right up Furnock’s wardrobe. All Steam ahead for the spider cloak please.
My character vision for Furnock is to get him into more attck angles so he can try to push foes towards our shield wall and act as an auxiliary to the mage… how that comes about if leave in your hands..

During his initial rambling, Turtle waits for Treveylan to finish, although there are a few times that she appears to grip her chair extra hard and at one point she does roll her eyes. However, she says nothing, shifting to watch bemusedly as Pertinax arches his eyebrow. After Treveylan clarifies his position, Turtle leans back, letting the elf respond to the statement about his abilities.

{insert reply from Roberto about Pertinax’s studying the Art}

She sips her water slowly as he talks, and clears her throat when he is done. “I believe Pertinax was commenting earlier on your remark towards my shields.” A tap on an outstretched foot onto one of the spikes. “It seemed somewhat disparaging and I’m not sure why it was said, given all that they’ve done. You’ve spoken more eloquently to merchants, dear Treveylan. My shields and honor deserve as much consideration.” Turtle gives as much of a bow from her chair as she can. “Do I take care of my weapons, as Helm teaches? Certainly. And I do indeed feel that we should continually have our items enchanted further, as faith can alone does not hold the line.” She flips an empty goblet over in her hand, catching it neatly as beads of water splash the table.

Her finger wags at the half-elf. “I’m pretty sure we ALL were thinking that there was something amiss with that room. Furnock isn’t the only one with a sense for traps. Often plain old wisdom will do the trick nicely, thank you very much. And this room does not seem right.” Motioning to the cloak again, “If this had come off a dead Temple denizen, who was wearing it, then that would make sense. If it was hidden inside a secret chamber, then that would make sense. Or even if it was just hanging in a room of a higher-echelon follower, then that would make sense. But left out in the open with other free treasure, as ‘gifts’ from our gods?” She shakes her head fiercely. “I’m sorry, but that explanation makes about as much sense as you going back alone.” She holds a hand up to be able to continue.

“While the devil light was no doubt a tricky adversary, I ask you all to question whether it alone would be the sole guardian of not only this cloak, but 9 other magical items. Was it really powerful enough to serve that role? She shakes her head again. “Much in the Temple is not what it appears to be, and what could at first look to be good with casual observation may in fact be a trap. You say the room was a trap, I say the cloak itself is the trap. Hopefully we can learn which before I try it on- perhaps with the aid of a Helm divination?” A look towards Florent.

wherein our heroes discuss the safety of a big pile of magic items left in an evil elemental temple

“So as you can see…. we have a ton of gear we have left behind, and may have given up to the Temple of Evil…”

OOC: For the sake of having some roleplay ‘momentum’ for next session, I’m going to pretend Treveylan is making this comment in game.

Turtle frowns and again pokes at the cloak, this time with her spoon. “How could we give up something that was not ours to begin with? Surely you don’t believe they just left this highly magical piece of defensive-wear lying around?” She waves one arm around for added emphasis. “Which is more likely: that the denizens of the Temple, knowing we’d come through that area, decided to essentially give us over 10 pieces of magical aid to help us defeat them,” she moves the other arm, “or this is yet another deception designed to trick us somehow.” She throws her spoon near the fork.

“My father used to give my sisters and I advice he learned from running the family business. And one of those was, ‘If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, so run the other way.’ I say the cloak is trapped in some manner. If there is other magic beyond the monacle which can determine its true purpose, than I say we spend gold to be certain its safe. If not, then I will volunteer to try the thing on first.”

Treveylan, “Just about ALL that we have found has been from that Temple… whether it is the coin you have procured to purchase your beloved shields, or your armor. If you are to argue that the Evil is there, yes I agree. If you are to say that the items were left as a potential trap, I can also agree with you, as I was first to consider it. But perhaps the items are also trophies of the innocent that have been slain in the many years of war and battle that was sustained here. But to allow them to fall into the Temple’s hands and their followers is a far greater detriment to our cause. If we can rid them from the Temple, then we should do so. If you do not think we should, then I will do it alone. But if that is the case, do not ask for a copper of their value if you did not want to go after them in the first place.

I do not think they merely left the items behind… it would seem that many factions in this temple are at war with each other. Some beasts may keep others at bay, while the same said beasts and enemies may not have any need for these items or said gifts. My father and clan had many sayings, but one that sticks to my mind is this:

Use what you can along your path, what you may find may be useful, and if it is so, perhaps the gods have placed it there for your benefit. Perhaps not, but that is the fate of the gods to decide.

I come from a place far harsher than this, and we have used what we can from the earth and from our surroundings. If we are to leave it to our enemies, then we may fall to the said gifts that may have been provided for us. That above all would be pure folly.”

Didius is furiously scribing on a piece of parchment.

Pertinax arches an eyebrow.”Before we let our tempers get the best of us let’s remember that the statues were not unguarded. There was that creature of light, the will of the wisp, which is very hard to get rid of unless you have the right spells and the right arcane might behind your magenars.”

“In any case, it does seem strange that such a powerful item is left in that room. I do not have the necessary spells to pry further into the cloak but it
would be useful to ask a more experienced wizard to do so on our behalf. Of course, gold is going to be involved.”

BRIAN:
So as you can see…. we have a ton of gear we have left behind, and may
have given up to the Temple of Evil…

ROBERTO:
Interesting. Another thing it could be is some form
of complex puzzle. Maybe we need to take the things
in an order and if we don’t some creatures come to
life or some such. That would explain why such a nice
cloak would be just hanging on a statue. The other
possibility is that it’s a real medusa who happened to
have a cloak of resistance who then got turned to
stone somehow but the cloak resisted the effect.

OOC; the Cloak of Arachnida (Tarantula model) was not part of the spoils, but rather a discounted (by 2,000) item that Meelub had. In game, all this discussion occurs in the
evening so that cloak is not his just yet. Also, Turtle had asked Pertinax to explain to Furnock why getting the hand crossbow would be an excellent idea.

Turtle raises a cup of water towards the Elf and then at
Treveylan. “A fine piece of math you two. Let’s me focus on the fighting.” Draining the cup. “So the human sword goes onto the pile with the bracers, the dagger, funny walking shoes, etc. I do say that a missile-shooting, wall crawling, Furnock could really give us a tactical advantage. Frilly shirt or not.” A wink in the rogue’s direction.

“But I don’t advise keeping that other cloak.” Poking the garb from the medusa statue with a salad fork. “It is too powerful an item to be found so easily. Why would it be left out in the open, unguarded? Why wasn’t it at least worn by the enemy?” She shakes her head. “I’m not an expert in magic but any means, but it seems far too easy won.” She looks around for agreement.
“Just as the side of good advances truth, evil uses deception as a weapon. Wisdom says this item is a trick at best. A trap at worst.” She throws her fork at it. “Burns should look at it before one of us puts it on. After Helm, caution is an adventurer’s best friend.”

Florent’s eyes grow large once again at the prospect of his debts being paid off and actually receiving a share of treasure again: “Oh mon Dieu! Praise be to ‘Elm! But no, gold is no why I adventure. I ‘ave come to believe that ‘Elm will provide all I need through doing ‘is will. I will live on spoils of Tempel, and blessings of ‘Elm. Speaking of ‘Elms blessings, I ‘ave ‘eard of blessing to make shield sacred. Mine already glows and seems to give me extra divine power to turn undead, but the more blessings the better, say moi. [OOG: I get a +2 bonus to turn already, but to be honest I can’t remember what its from, or if I ever knew. Check with DM] Other than blessings of ‘Elm, and respectful tithing to ‘Elm, I ‘ave no need of my share of gold. Give it back to party for group or individual use. When I find another gift of ‘Elm in Tempel like my trusty ring and pretty cloak, you can count my party contribution against what I would owe for claiming treasure.”

Looking off towards the direction of the Temple Florent frowns, “Let us no delay, though. I concede that we are stronger for ‘aving returned to ‘Omlette, but I ‘ave no doubt Tempel is stronger aussi. We must go back toute suite!”

in character discussion about findings and a recap

Looking over the spreadsheet that Treveylan has provided, Turtle nods,
mulling over the list. “Well Pertinax, will you still want to use this ‘shoddy’ human longsword, or add it on the sell pile so we can get 4,157.5 gp and you can continue with your Elven birthright?’ A quick smile.

Pertinax takes a sip from his goblet of wine.
“Indeed, Turtle. While I may have come to appreciate the pragmatic value of human instruments I rarely find myself close enough to an enemy to use this finely crafted human sword, thanks to the shield wall. I believe it is best to sell it so we can get enchantments that we may use.”

Flipping over a coin. Turtle asks, “I still do not understand what the Calimshan figure the dead sorcerer told us of has to do with all of this. Or
what question that woman’s cleric asked of him. I would think any caravan with 200 people would be more willing to share, particularly after the gifts of wine and that worthless necklace.” A wink at Treveylan. “Thoughts?”

“You mean Tharizdun, god of Madness? Or the Pasha of
<insert>? This is strange indeed but we won’t be able to solve this particular puzzle unless we find more pieces in the Temple.”

Didius also sips from a goblet of wine. It seems like she is not quite comfortable yet with the group or is far less gregarious than most bards seem to be.
“I am composing a ballad, or at first I thought that would be enough to cover the exploits of my dear brother. After spending just one day with all of you
I can already tell this will be an expansive work. Probably more than one.”

She then rests both elbows on the table and leans forward.”Perhaps you can share with me your adventures so far?”

OOC:Don’t. Just let me know what you do not share.
In the meantime here is an OOC recap for the benefit of Chris and Luke. Treveylan could not find any evidence of the missing hijackers. After cataloguing the loot Treveylan did find a bag with something squirming inside. Inside the bag were three sets of shoes that walk in pairs and leave deep tracks. These were the missing cultists. Since going back on the road would speed us up we decided to head towards Hommlet, spend the night there and then head back to the Temple. We were carrying the sorcerer’s body back with us for Florent to use his spell on. One the way we noticed a caravan heading towards us. The majority of the party hid behind the tree line and Treveylan skulked closer. Sharp eyes on the caravan noticed the half-elf being all sneaky-like. So he steps out and it turns out that this is a merchant caravan from Baldur’s Gate carrying the very succesful Lady Safeton. They stopped and we came out, leaving the body behind, to chat for a while (two hours, and I’m sure Florent was sulking the whole time). Treveylan gives Lady Safeton some gifts to soften her up for some future project or
something. First, he gives her some wine from the evil temple. So far so good. Then he pulls out the necklace with fire rubies, while Pertinax is busy
weezing behind the trees, and gives it to her. Granted, Pertinax thought it was worthless and gaudy but the last time he thought a piece of jewelry was
worthless it turned that that humans value gaudiness and big ass jewels, which these ones were. OOG knowledge, it was worth 4700 gp. Treveylan thinks it was worth the price to build good will with the Lady.

Anyway, back to the story, the caravan moved on and we had to camp because we were exhausted. Nothing happens and we move on to town were the first visit is to Rufus and Burne followed promptly by a visit to Meelaub. Meelaub has some nice stuff in stock, including a fantastic Periapt of Health +6. Big pimping with a spinning rim and everything. So, we were discussing what to do with the swag. Pertinax is in favor of using whatever party funds we have undivided right now to acquire said Periapt and give it to the party tank. Others think it might be best to just divide treasure as usual and each one get what they need. We do have some very nice and pricy items
in a cloak of resistance +5 and a ring of evasion. With Dan’s blessing I may try to set a market price on the animated shoes using the guidelines in the DMG.

also it does not include the Myriad spells (from scrolls) that Pertinax has
on his elvishness.

SMGthere is a list somewhere right? anyone have a ballpark figure?

Brian, thanks for doing the lists. For the record, I was able to see the screenshot. :)
It seems like we’ll definitely sell one of the hand crossbows and leather armor, the dagger, both bracers, and eventually the 2-handed flail. This is 20,431.

For the record, Furnock bought one of the Leather Armor +2’s already, so that needs to be taken off and the corresponding gold added to the party trough.

Man, selling stuff for 50% off blows! What was the deal Meelab made with us for higher? Anyone have that?

Money-wise, I’m thinking it makes sense to keep either the Ring of Evasion or the Cloak of Resistance, but not both.

BRIAN: Well… for Pertinax’s amount of Spells he has “held onto” I would guess a few Thousand in the till… some of them are pretty expensive spells…

And I listed ALL items for everyone to see what was happening… that way it does not come as any surprise to anyone.

I left all of the items in for simple calculation purposes… nothing more.

And if I recall, there was not really any deal for higher priced items. We could sell things at 60% for things 3,000gp and lower (and buy at 40%?? though I may most likely be wrong on the buy aspect)

ROBERTO: > Man, selling stuff for 50% off blows! What was the> deal Meelab made
> with us for higher? Anyone have that?

Indeed. I’m glad Treveylan is on the case.

Money-wise, I’m thinking it makes sense to keep
either the Ring of
Evasion or the Cloak of Resistance, but not both.

I’m not so sure. It really depends on if anyone is
interested. Pertinax, for example, is very interested
in the cloak. The ring is a very, very nice magical
item and it might make more sense to hold on to this
items now. Getting them at 50% value could be too
hard to pass up even if you end up in debt.

Another thing is that I really think that Preiapth of
Health +6 is a very worthwhile item. I think we
should attempt to get it and then give it to one of
the tanks, probably Turtle because she is always in
the front line.

With expensive items liek that pooling resources is
the only way we’ll be able to get them for now.

More ROBERTO:
I made some adjustments to the spreadsheet that Brian sent out with the loot. The price for the ring of command and for the shoes is included in this one, plus the cloak of arachnida. I also made the assumption that the flail is +1. If it’s not we can adjust this easily.

His Elvenness has learned something from the Boy of Helm and has decided to take on heavy debt if no one else wants to stake a claim on the cloak of resistance or the ring of evasion. He will owe the party quite a bit as you can see from the spreadsheet. Furnock would have gotten some debt too but since Florent finally had some gold he paid back the remainder of his debt and Furnock was able to pocket some gold because of it. The final cash amounts to Florent,
Sulmia, Turtle and Treveylan include Florent’s debt payment.

So, Sulmia kept the boots and got 5019 in cash equivalent to spend. Turtle and Treveylan kept nothing and have 11951.4 to
spend in gold equivalent. Florent has 5629.8 to spend after paying his debt and keeping the cloak of protection. Furnock kept the armor, crossbow, cloak of arachnida and ring of command and has 1030.5 to spend on a new frilly shirt.
Pertinax kept the cloak of protection +5, ring of evasion, the spell scrolls and now owes 11397.1 to the other 5 party members. He is going to sell his current cloak of protection +1 to be able to get some gold to eat and to transcribe spells to his spellbook.
He now has another mouth to feed.

ROBERTO via Recalculating the recalculation: sans couverture
For the time being let’s not count the cloak from the medusa (sounds much more ominous that cloak of resistance +5) which no one is going to don for now until we figure this out better. I also took out the cloak of arachnida, which it turns out we do not have (silly me).

Without the cloak of resistance Pertinax’s debt is much lower and as such the hit on everyone else’s pocket is smaller. Florent can still clear his debt and has some gold left to tithe and eat and such (4057 gp). Sulmia has 3406 gp and 3 sp to spend (she made out like a bandit with those fantastic boots). The Half-Blood Prince (henceforth known as HBP) and Turtle actually end up with about the same amount of gold as before because Pertinax’s debt was keeping them down. 11406.3 for each. Furnock now has 4188.8 for his
frilly shirt, booze and the kind of women Florent wishes he was getting it on with. Not enough for that cloak of tarantula he had his eye on though.

Turtle looks over the suit of +2 leather armor that Furnock bought for 2,000 gp. “About time you got something to protect those frilly shirts.” She winks at him. “Now all you have to do is get some practice in with that pea shooter,” gesturing to the +2 hand crossbow that Furnock was considering after Pertinax’s advice. “Although that discounted spider cloak that Meelub wanted to sell on the cheap could pass as fur, and it would be neat to walk around on the ceilings eh?” She swigs some water with her breakfast. “The spider cloak was 12,000, which is 2,000 less than it normally goes for. Thanks to the several small pearls we bought, the Power of Power, and the Monacle, we now know what we have found so far.” Turning to Treveylan. “I will let our resident quartermaster fill us in with what we have.”

OOC: So the vote was to head back to town?

Either Furnock is getting better at speaking or everyone else is getting better at understanding him, its hard to tell. ” Spider cloak you say, that sounds like a must have. Just so long as it doesn’t clash with the rest of my wardrobe. I AM a winter; blacks, whites and dark colors please and NO pastels. Pastels turn me all prunny. I really am no good with crossbows, they are just SO tiresome.

(poking a stick at the “Cloak of Resistance +5” on the table) “Pertinax, you had said some tactical stuff to him before about why using the hand crossbow would be ideal. Something about ‘sneak attack’ and an ‘Izzi’, whatever that is.” Dropping the stick. “It may be superstitious of me, but I suggest that this cloak from the medusae statue be sold.”

LUKE OOC: So the vote was to head back to town?
ROBERTO OOC: The vote was that since town was sort of on the way we would stop there for a night. I’ll write a recap later.

STEVE OOC:
Just a thought, but the bard naturally lends herself to ‘story-telling’/re-capping. I think it’d be a new spin on ‘re-caps’ if we try to do all the re-cpaping in-game through conversation or other, ‘hey, this is happening’ action. Through these clues, MIA gamers can piece together what happened

Pertinax, “I take it you are keeping the enchanted leather
amrmor? Good choice. You can always dye it black and have the frills from your shirt come up around the collar and through the sleeves.”

“Also, the crossbow is smaller than the one you are
carrying. I don’t think you have tried one of these.”

VARIABLE SHIELD: A variable shield, normally a +1 small steel shield, can change its size on mental command. As a standard action, the shield can shrink or grow from a buckler to a tower shield. All the rules for carrying items with shields apply to the new shield size (see Armor Descriptions in Chapter 7 of the PHB). You cannot use a weapon in your hand if you’re carrying a large or tower shield. Characters not proficient in shields take an addiitonal -2 armor check penalty during the following round if the variable shield’s size changes during combat.

Sooo, it would let you ignore the shield penalties for most of the time, and then you could enlarge it during combat.

SMG

To which CHRIS replied:

if it were in game: Turtle says “and then you could enlarge it during combat.”

Florent replies, “No Non, mon cheri. I already pay good money for one of these ‘codpiece of prowess’, an only got chafing and rash. I now stick with wisdom from Swordcoast, “It’s not the size of the ship, its the motion of the ocean.” Besides, with me, it is no combat. It is sweet, sweet, vous les vous couchez avec moi…”

willing to take risk of sacrificing ourselves for the sake of the weak. ‘Elm can give you a girdle of faith, Turtel, to chase away your fears. Open youself to ‘is embrace.” Florent spreads his arms wide with a big grin and sincere glow.

Turtle sighs audibly, shrugs and leans forward to briefly hug the grinning cleric. After a few moments of contact that the boy seems to obviously enjoy, she pulls away, then recites, ‘Care for your weapons so that they may perform their duties when called upon.’ This is yet another duty of those who follow The Vigilant One.” She readies a shield with a practiced motion. “Helm provides his followers foremost with the wisdom to prepare for battles- ‘Anticipate attacks and be ready,’ Florent,” is another response. “I have never heard any official dictates about ‘crushing evil,’ while I quote His beliefs almost exactly.” She shakes another finger at him. “And I hardly think it is fair to call me a coward or imply as such- I’m usually the first in a room and the last one out. I will not apologize for wanting to be adequately prepared before we face a slime demon, nor consider it ‘pragmatic’ to report in to the village and make them aware of the danger.” More finger wagging. “This has nothing to do with my being female or any feminine side. I dare say I’ve brought down more evil doers than you have, so maybe being a lady is a good thing, eh Sulmia?” A rare smile towards the group’s other woman.

“I believe Helm looks after those who look after themselves. He is not going to drop magical aid into the Temple; we either take it from their forces or buy it ourselves. If we buy it ourselves, we can get what we want, whereas if we rely solely on what our enemies have, we have no sure way of getting what we genuinely need; the evil is not going have magic that is for good.” Clearing her throat, “Finally, I am not in agreement that the Temple automatically grows more powerful just over time. Like any organization they have to get continually find supplies and this requires manpower, effort, and gold. I believe it is raiding parties like this one,” jerking a thumb in the direction of a headless giant, “that are the literal arms of the Temple. Without them, the Temple stagnates, growing weaker over time, not stronger.”

Turtle: Blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah…..”Finally, I am not in agreement that the Temple automatically grows more powerful just over time. Like any organization they have to get continually find supplies and this requires manpower, effort, and gold. I believe it is raiding parties like this one,” jerking a thumb in the direction of a headless giant, “that are the literal arms of the Temple. Without them, the Temple stagnates, growing weaker over time, not stronger.”

Florent eyes revert from being glassed over and perks up with this last thought. “Turtel, je regret, you ‘ave a point ‘ere. I ‘ave no thought about ‘ow the raids sustain the Tempel. I still think ‘eart is more important to cut out that cutting off arms, but you surprise me with your womanly wisdom. I still say Tempel is right next step, but I go with vote of majority.”

Turtle shakes her head sadly, a look of pity on her face. “I am not sure what you are trying to prove or who you are trying to impress Shield Brother, but you are not being realistic here.” Gesturing to a still-bleeding Sulmia and grimacing as her smooshed arm moves; “Look around you cleric. This damage is all from just a raiding party. And yet they almost finished us off even though we had the element of surprise and they were not in the Temple. We got lucky, and if it weren’t for a quick-thinking Furnock {a bow in the rogue’s direction} we’d have been done for.” She cradles her wounded arm.

“If we do not temper your fanaticisim Florent, it will be the death of us all.”

Stepping towards him. “You ignore key tenents from the Watcher’s teachings; ‘Know your foes.’ Pointing to the sorcerer’s corpse. “This one could tell as much, yet you would have us leave it.” Another step towards the cleric. “You ignore the Watcher’s main goals in favor of your own. ‘Protect the weak, poor, and do not not sacrifice them for yourself or for others.’ Shaking a finger at Florent. “Leaving these monsters to do what they planned would not only have been wrong, but evil. Even as we sit here trying to remind you of the basic duty to Hommlett, others of their ilk slip away.” Another step. “Stand, wait, and watch carefully.” You have ignored signs that there is something beyond even what we thought- see those small crossbows the bugbears have? Those are not of their race, so where did they come from? Who is really behind all this? Do you even care?”

A final step, so that she is but a hands-breath away. “Careful planning always defeats rushed actions in the end.” She raises her voice, turning around, and enunicating clearly so that the entire group can hear. “Careful planning…ALWAYS…defeats rushed actions…in the end.” Her injured arm falls.

“This needs to not be about any of us, or any personal obsessions. “If we fall, Hommlett surely falls, and with it, perhaps far more.” Sitting down to collect her breath. “There is nothing in Helm’s dogma about hurriedly chasing evil down- that is more along the lines of Tyr. There is however, something in the name ‘Shielding Alliance’ and I would suggest to you all that we not forget who we are protecting.”

Motioning towards Treveylan. “If you can follow these other tracks, at least some of us we should set out quickly for them, for that is our true duty.”

Florent does his best to maintain eye contact with Turtle, and not let his gaze drop to her chest. But at this close proximity it is difficult for the teen wunderkind. “I am amazed that the women are drawn to me like this, always wanting to get closer. I just ‘ave to figure out why they are so angry so often.” Florent puts a comforting hand on Turtle’s shoulder. “It is OK to be afraid, Turtel. I was once scared like you. You no ‘ave faith to draw on, though I am glad to ‘ear you are seeking the wisdom of ‘Elm. You no ‘ave to ‘ide behind words of ‘careful planning’. They make no sense coming from you anyway, so it is better to admit your feminine side is showing through your shields. After all, if you truly understand goals of ‘Elm, you would no pretend to ‘ave best interests of weak in mind when your main goal for returning to ‘Omlette is to trade in loot for more spikes. If you ‘ad faith you would know ‘Elm provides what we need most (Florent holds up his prized ring and semi-tainted cloak of protection). We ‘ave indulged you chasing after this tangent party when we know where ‘eart of evil lies. Oui, we do small good, but ‘ow much greater evil ‘ave we allowed to grow? ‘Ow many more innocents die through our inaction if we delay on three day, or longer, trip to town? What we really accomplish with such a trip other than allaying your fears for little longer? Grace of ‘Elm ‘ave ‘ealing to make party like new, so no ‘ide behind your wounds. Dictates of ‘Elm are clear in face of such great evil. Crush it with mighty ‘and of ‘Elm! No dance around skirts and run back to town every few days. Pragmatism too easily shields for cowardice. No sacrificing the weak for sake of protecting ourselves means we must be willing to take risk of sacrificing ourselves for the sake of the weak. ‘Elm can give you a girdle of faith, Turtel, to chase away your fears. Open youself to ‘is embrace.” Florent spreads his arms wide with a big grin and sincere glow.

Didius carefully plucks the strings on her lute and strikes a minor, somewhat dissonant chord.

“Drama! This is very entertaining. I thought I was going to be bored following Pertinax around but I was, happily, very wrong. My head is bursting with ideas for verses describing the Shielding Alliance!”

Pertinax fumbles around his pouch for the magical monocle.

“I already used the divinatory charge today. I will have to wait until tomorrow.”

With that he moves towards the items Furnock and Treveylan now doubt have identified as valuable and casts the common cantrip that reveals magical auras.

“It would seem to me that we are going to move right away. Florent, as usual, wants to head straight back. Furnock, surprisingly, wants to do the same. Treveylan wants to travel as quickly as we can to Hommlet and rest there to return to the temple first thing in the morning. Turtle wants to also return to Hommlet and at least spend some time there. Sulmia has been very quiet. Treveylan, my vote is
conditional on some information. If Hommlet is somewhat on the way I would like to stop there, rest for the night, impart whatever information we can and order supplies, and then head right back to the temple. If it’s not on the way then I vote we head right back and rest on the way.”

OOC:I’m guessing only Dan can answer since my memory of the map shows Hommlet a bit to the side.

Turning to Pertinax, “I agree with you. If we are closer to the Temple, then it is there that we return to immediately. But more importantly is the current issue above all else… the 3 – 4 missing individuals from this raiding party. When I was tracking them here, there were 8 – 9 sets of foot
prints. I only count 5 bodies; 2 Giants, 2 Bugbears, 1 mage…. 5, not 8 or 9. There is still some of them out there… I think we try to find them and dispatch of them as well. But then that is my own opinion…,” he continues
to scan the ground for more sets of footprints.

As he is moving around scanning the ground, he leaves no tracks, no indication that he has been through the area…

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Worried that I’ve either mis-filed or lost an email. Chris had made a ‘nazis bombing pearl harbor-animal house refernce’ that I thought I had included in the relevant section. (the part where we went after one of the temple’s raiding parties against the wishes of Florent and it had proven successful in several ways; see below)

On 6/6/06, Christopher Hood <chris_hood5> wrote:

Sub-plot schmub-plot. Florent and Chris still think chasing after the raiding party was a big mistake. No kudos for you!

Yes, stupid defeating the monsters kidnapping villagers to be sacrificed.

Stupid stopping something that we’d have to fight at one point anyways, probably while trapped and soon-to-be surrounded by re-inforcements.

Treveylan listens to the pious priest, as well as the Wise Elf, and considers the hardened female warrior’s points before he speaks, “This war party or raiding party was strong and well prepared… they are not merely
the mercenary type. They were equipped with 2 giants, the strong arm of the group; as well as 2 bugbears, the quicker and more adept at stealth and close quarters fighting; then there was the mage. They were no run of the mill group… my suspicion would make me believe that they are the raiding
party that we have heard about in the past.”

He continues to scan the ground, looking for more tracks, when he speaks again most grimly, “There are only 5 bodies here, I counted 8 to 9 sets of tracks on our way here, we are missing 3 or 4 beings from this party. Grab what you can off the bodies, there are more of our enemies out here. We
need to find the rest and stop them as well.” He continues to scan the ground, looking for any sign of the missing…

While he searches, he speaks over his shoulder, “Heading back to Homlett is not an unwise course of action, if, we are only to warn the people there particularly Rufus and Burn, but to stay too long would be folly. I will not stay there for more than a night. I have no idea as to what I may need, though finding a way to communicate with the town would be wise. While we are on it, perhaps we can find a way to make Florent faster AND quieter?? He is too loud for my liking and he readily gives our position away… plus, he slows me down if am tracking.

A strong evil grows in the Temple, that is for certain, delaying too long would be ill advised. I will take us back to Homlett for today, I leave at dawn tomorrow.”

(OOG: dawn of the following day that they return to Homlett)

Florent, ”’Alf Prince, you are letting your arrogance de nobility get in front of you again. ‘Ow you decide you leave tomorrow when you no ‘ear wisdom of group? You no longer believe in power of vote? Majority no compare to royalty?” Turning to Turtle Florent shakes his peach fuzz coated chin, “You take a vow of self-serving now? Convience is no vigilance! I am consistant because confronting evil is main goal, and must be done ASAP. No when we ‘ave new toys. Tuite suite! ‘Old the line used to mean ‘old the line, no chase the evil down when it fits our travel plans. I am glad Furnock ‘as seen greater calling, or at least something close. My vote remains!”

So its clear, hopefully we’re still following our usual after combat
protocols so we’re not all just standing around jabbing away. What is
the most recent such SOP:

1) Turtle and Sulmia take up guarding positions, covering the most
likely routes for something to come in

2) Pertinax casts DETECT MAGIC, and then, if possible uses the monacle
on whatever could most likely be used by the most people in the group;
i.e. boots as opposed to a shield. he also generally tries to
identify potions and reads any scrolls

3) Furnock searches any bodies, with Treveylan often helping if there
are a lot to go through or there is not time to be thorough and we
want a back-up to make sure we don’t miss anything. In the past
Furnock would at least Take 10, sometimes 20 if the body/object was
clearly importamt enough and could hide something. {in this case the
body of the sorcerer} In the dungeon, Treveylan sometimes is checking
for secret doorts, so outside I assume he’ll look for tracks.

4) Florent is doing HEAL checks and then casting healing on the most
injured person first, working his way up.

5) Didius will probably stand around and make fun of her brother. :P
But she can also be another set of eyes. I can’t imagine her going
through bodies.

“That’s a first. Thank you brother, for the privilege
of getting my armor christened on the blades of common
bugbear brigands. I must say, you look quite bloodied
yourself.”

Surveying the condition of the Shielding Alliance:
“Perhaps there is an epic brewing here after all. I
rarely get to use my healing touch but it seems like
that is about to change too.”

She moves from Sulmia to Turtle to Florent touching
each one while singing a lilting Elven song. Her last
touch is saved for her brother. It is clear that in
spite of their constant ribbing, they share the deep
bond that comes from being family.

“I’m glad you are ok, brother.”

“Thank you, sis.”

Pertinax moves to put out the flames remaining from
the twin fireballs. He stomps on them.

“Well, it certainly seems like this was the raiding
party that attacked the caravans. Like Turtle says,
we do need to interrogate the presumed leader of the
band. It may just be that they lay here in ambush
and wait for any caravan that comes along but there
could also be more. Florent, when could you use your
spell to communicate with the dead?”

“Since we are closer to Hommlet than to the temple it
would make sense to at least make a stopover there.
How long we want to wait there would depend on what we
hope to accomplish while there. This silver raven
Turtle refers to is one of the famous Figurines of
Wondrous Power. I do think it would make sense to
acquire one as a party item. My guess is that it
would cost about 4 thousand gold coins. As to this
spell that Turtle refers to I would guess it’s one to
transport objects accross great distances. If it is
and we can find a spellcaster to cast it for us it
would cost about 910 gold coins without taking into
account the vagaries of the market.”

“Which items do we hope to sell and what do we hope to
acquire? Since we are talking about getting things
from either the Gate or Waterdeep then I would presume
someone already has something expensive in mind.”

Florent studies the female elf’s healing with great interest. Then turning to the party he shakes his head with conviction. “No again with this go back to ‘Omlette. No, mes amis, no. We ‘ave just seen ‘ow powerful the Temple is coming. As dangerous as this group was, I still think greater danger lies in Temple. I ‘ope we ‘ave no sacrificed many by this delay of chasing after few. They would ‘ave done great danger, oui, but who knows what danger may be erupting from Temple even now. We must go back tout suite. To delay now for silver birds and new stuff is no vigilance of ‘Elm.”

Walking over to the corpse of their leader, Florent says “I think it would be better to ask questions while ‘e was still alive. I can ask ‘im now, but I no think ‘e answer. Maybe tomorrow morning ‘Elm answer my prayers and then I can ask ‘im three questions, but again I think this is no so much a good idea. Delay not worth reward of information. Whoever is still ‘urt I can ‘eal, and then we must go back to the Tempel!”

OOC:I smell a vote coming! Hopefully, even though
Luke and Chris won’t be able to play on SUndays,
they’ll still control them during the roleplaying
debates by e-mail. I’m glad Chris is going it and I
hope Luke does the same for Furnock.

IC:

“Well Sister, you may be about to witness one of the
most typical things about the Shielding Alliance. We
discuss all matters at length and then vote.”

Turtle nods, and interjects, “Sometimes at GREAT length, in keeping with the ethos of Law.” {if Sulmia had actually died, would Florent finally shut up about going back to the temple?}

“In this particular case we have Turtle who suggests
we go to town and inform the people there about our
findings and in the meantime get new equipment. Then
there is the priest of Helm who suggests we go back to
the temple.”

“Like he always does,” Turtle mutters.

“Treveylan, what say you? Sulmia? I can see the
reason for both courses of action and haven’t decided
which one is best. Perhaps either of you can shine
new light on the matter at hand.”
Turtle looks surprised at this revelation, given the Elf’s statements earlier.

Didius rolls her eyes.”Who speaks like that? Did you
learn that at wizard college?”

“Pertinax, will Didius be wanting to join the group so she can take part in votes too? Or is she going to be more of an Honored Guest? If you’d like to join us Didius, its really a formality. You’re more likely to have ‘heated discussions’ over treasure’ with this group than over anything else, but being a full-fledged member has its
advantages. Not the least of which is voting against your brother.” Turtle winks.

Didius seems to wiggle one of her long and pointy
ears.
{no doubt this captures Florent’s interest}

“Thank you, Turtle, for the offer and as tempting as
it is to oppose Pertinax at every vote I am here
merely as an observer and chronicler.”

OOC:It would also be unfair if I had two votes just
because of a feat. Now, where’s Brian? I would have
expected Treveylan to have rambled on the subject by now.
hey, it won’t. now that its cool again, we all plan on copying you and taking Leadership at 9th level. in fact, our cohorts will have cohorts. i get to finally have that Dwarven ninja sidekick with the glowing numchucks.

Turtle stifles back a laugh. “Fair enough. If you change your mind, please don’t hesitate to say anything. I’m not sure how this chronicling will apply to our spoils of war, but in my book if you’re on our side you’re welcome to an equal share.”
OOC: Turtle and the rest wouldn;t know she’s ‘just’ a cohort and being Lawful, would want to figure out how Didius will be included in the functioning of the group.

Furnock is in favor of going back to the temple. The lady elf raises a
redness to Furnock’s cheeks. Besides this even the cowardly cannot out run
death. No, evil must be stopped. 1 Vote for back to the temple!

OOC: I’ll send Furnock alongThursday. He levelled up last time I played him.

Another battle, another series of close calls. Turtle surveys the field as her comrades recover. Grunting from the pain of a giant’s swing, she limps over towards Sulmia, pulling out the magical Ointment. “Does she need this?” Looking ovver the party. “Is anyone diseased? Poisoned?” She motions to the giants. “Treveylan, would you do the honors and de-head those things please? They will serve as yet more proof of the danger the area is under.” She adjusts her stance, testing her one leg gingerly. “I suggest we burn all the bodies, save the spell-thrower. His we have Florent use the power of Helm to interrogate his soul, may it rest in peace.”

Wiping the blood off her armor, she continues; “After we’ve gone over what they have, I’d like to see if they were expecting someone. Perhaps they are somehow aware- either through spies or by magic- of caravan schedules. Depending what we find on them, it might make sense to continue on to Hommlett, bringing news of what else we have learned.”

Seeing Furnock smile, but Florent open his mouth she motions for him to pause. “I have been thinking of how we might solve our problems with getting supplies and communicating with the town and believe I have a way. My father had a magical figurine, a silver raven, that although made of metal, would come alive to fly and deliver messages. Through this we can hopefully work out a system to let the town know what is going on and vice versa.” She coughs here, before going on. “The other difficulty of actually getting the supplies in a timely manner, involves a magical spell I have heard of and I’m sure Pertinax could explain in more detail. It will require some gold, as do all things, but perhaps Burns can assist us.”

She squats, stretching out her wounded leg. “In any case, I move we update the council on our progress and put in a new order for additional equipment.” Motioning to the party’s newest member. “And from the advice of some folks, we all might use a hot bath.”

Luke, the dandied rogue had a good session- I had him use PRAYER from the Ring ‘o Spell Storing, to help our group/hurt a bugbear assassin, then drank the POTION OF INVISIBILITY to sneak up on a sorcerer who was bombarding Pertinax with posion knife thingies (not gonna accept Turtles’ ointment eh Elfie?), and, waiting until he was ready to cast, leaped out to interrupt a spell with a sneak attack that struck the baddie dead.

Furnock then used his RING OF COMMAND to make the giant lose a turn, and helped out in the clean up.

Turtle has a dream that her sister is still alive

A yellowish sun is poking through the clouds when the last guard shift stirs the others to wake. Florent and Pertinax have finished preparing spells, and their elven guest is busy readying himself for the long journey. The column of smoke from the direction of the Temple still rises into the sky, watched with muttered breaths by the group. Turtle is the last to rise, and this morning his visage is calm, almost serene-like. When someone asks why she is such a good mood, the response comes with a smile; “I have decided to help our ernstwhile rogue ‘break from the bottle,’ so to speak. I pledged an Oath of Abstinence and from this morning forth shall no longer consume alcohol and other drugs or stimulants. Even the celebratory liquor that we drink after a successful return will be off-limits to me. It is my hope that Furnock may one day follow my example.”

She seems embarassed by the attention, yet is clearly holding back something. “Last night I was granted a vision. I saw a place many miles from here. I saw my sister. My sister is alive and well.” Her smile is practically beaming. “She was safely in the company of a large, ugly dwarf in some mansion. I can stop mourning for her as one day we will meet again.” Turtle appears to be a whole new person and here eyes look past the group, off east into the distance.

ROBERTO: Not quite in the middle. In fact I think only Florent the quick is aware of the damn things. The harpies
were doing something. There is something in the
middle of the room. I just don’t remember what.

Get ready for some will saves! Furnock’s favorites.

LUKE: I don’t know if Furnock actually has a will to be honest. He is more of a ‘yes-man’ rogue.

BRIAN: There were two bodies (one male, one female) chained to an alter-like slab of stone, smooth on all sides and surrounded by giant rats and foxes (or some other animals)... the floor is teeming with the animals.. and seemed to take no notice of the Helmite Priest

There were also a couple harpies sitting in alcoves watching the whole spectacle… and noticed Florent and were just opening their mouths… when…..

STEVE:
Florent interrupts them in his ‘obnoxious yet zealous voice’, “Enemies of the Shielding Aliiance, I had hoped to roll really crappy against you, but due to my getting several guest NPC’s preggers, I am going to have to follow Bilbo, Frodo, and Gonzo and head off to where the Elves live.”

Unless…

With the approval of Dan, Chris and the rest of the group I will explain the situation and ask my housemmate Rob if he is available to fill in for a few months. Rob has gamed many a time before, but admittedly not 3.0/3.5/3.75; that being said, he’s a quick study and enjoys listening to my re-caps.

If Chris can conceivably come back, perhaps he can take over when Rob leaves {again} for Vancouver, if Florent has not been turned into Harpy Chow. Or Gealtinous Cube feed. Or a Treveylan target.

This is simply a suggestion to allow the character to coninue on. Failing Rob, maybe someone else?

Austin took the reigns of Monsieur Furnock. We didn’t
go to town so no new super-frilly shirt for him.
Steve did do a live action impersonation of the
drunken Furnock for all of us. We were forced to pee
in the basement sink. Hopefully Steve is feeling
better today although I doubt it.

Anyway, Florent was using his spell to track the head
and it pointed downwards and to the southwest. We
used the southwesternmost stairs to go down. Furnock
checked the door for traps quickly and opened the
lock. We saw a strange room filled with mushrooms of
different colors. Florent walked right in and an
attractive young woman offered guidance through the
forest of mushrooms. We sent in the diplomat and
TReveylan attempted to converse with the woman but she
in turn touched him aggresively and sapped the
half-elf’s copious wisdom. Only Furnock saw this
aggresive act though and the rest of the party was
confused. Treveylan the diplomat took out his flaming
sword and wounded the woman. The woman shrieked and
begged for someone to stop the crazy half-elf.
FLorent attempted to disarm Treveylan while Sir
Jeffers remarked that the half elf had gone mad.
Sulmia seemed hesitant probably due to the shaky
nature of the relationship between Florent and the
Prince. Furnock piped in and explained what he had
seen and Pertinax used some High Elven Vengeanceon the
woman. At this point Florent had disarmed Treveylan
and Sir Jeffers had pinned the poor, wisdom-deficient
half elf. Florent joined the grapple and so did
Furnock. Furnock was attempting to pull Jeffers off
Treveylan while Florent simply piled on. The woman
fled while Pertinax recognized the signs of magical
compulsions on Florent and Jeffers which he promptly
dispelled. The wrestlers stood up in time to see
three approaching creatures with leonine lower bodies
and human female upper bodies. A fight ensued while
Pertinax yelled “it’s only one creature, the other two
are illusions!”. Soon the beast with the face of the
woman who ensorcelled Florent and Jeffers laid on the
floor dead. It had some magical items and jewelry
which we promptly confiscated in the name of all
that’s good.

The party moved on and found a circular room filled
with strange statues of powerful mosnters like
dragons, beholders and the like. Florent pressed on
before his spell fizzled while a luminous ball got out
from behind a statue and attacked whomever was closest
to it. A few magenars and futile weapon swings later
the creature was destroyed but only after
dissappearing and damaging Pertinax who did the bulk
of the damage.

Florent then found a room with harpies on it and
that’s where we are. So it was non-stop action and it
still hasn’t stopped.

BRIAN:
Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd we did not get to level up…. thanks to Florent’s
rash running ahead… ; P

Also, each had some item in front of them or on the, or on each statue…
Treveylan told Furnock not to touch ANYTHING… as it seemed most likely to
be a trap

LUKE: jeez… teenagers when do they ever act rashly. As to Furnock not touching
anything. How does said rogue disarm possible traps without the use of his
arms? He has no Psionic powers. Since when did his Highness start beating
Furnock on his search checks. Furnock will withdraw to the rear in the light
of Trevelyn’s superior rogue abilities

BRIAN: It has nothing to do with his search checks… call it a “gut instinct”...
all that loot just laying around with monstrous statues watching their
prizes… just kinda screams “trap” to the Scout…

and rather than risk setting anything off… or possibly freeing anyone of
those beasts (of which you don’t want to fight)... it is better left
untouched… for now.

ROBERTO:
Dear Mr Furnock;

We have evaluated your request to join Beta Team and
at this time we regret to have to deny your
application. Given your skill-set we feel the best
position for you is at the point in team Alpha.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
Keep up the good work!

Beta Team

LUKE: Disarming traps gives us experience. So doesn’t that help us get towards that next level?

BRIAN: Yes…. but…. we are still in the middle of battle… or are about to be
again… it has been non-stop

wherein Turtle talks about some spiritual things

Furnock groans,shakes his head. ” I agree if I’m in the mouth of a stinky
garbage beast again just beat the bejeez out of it up close. I’m not
particularly tough. I have not great shell like turtle, eh.”

Turtle gives a pitying glance at the sick rogue. “Furnock, I apologize for hitting you. At the time, I believed shooting from afar at the creature to be the best choice. Again I am sorry. I do feel it is wrong to harrangue party members for accidents. Given the numerous shots we take in the course of the countless battles we’ve fought in, it should be no surprise that there are occasional mistakes. I would place that to be less than 1 in 20, although shooting directly into a melee is indeed trickier.”

Turning to Pertinax, “I thank you for your offer to teach. There are several tactics that groups as a whole can learn so that they work more effectively together, from evading friendly spells to sweeping for invisible foes to joint Bull Rushes or Grapples. For the time being however, I myself am focusing on strengthening my soul.” She gives another sad glance at the hiccuping gambler before continuing. “I have already sworn a holy oath to protect Hommlett. This is why I have continued along with this cause, when clearly we are well over our heads.” She holds a hand up so she can continue. “I have also sworn a Vow of Purity to avoid contact with dead flesh. This is why I no longer assist with searching the fallen. I can feel that it will be soon time to make another such pledge, and, partially to inspire our friend, I will foreswear alcohol.”

She squats, stretching her hands. “In any event, I would still rather have my companions do whatever they can to help me, even if by doing so my life is put at risk. Perhaps shooting into melee is a personal decision, much akin to being raised or not being raised. As such, I am saying to all that if I am grappled or otherwise held against my will, I want you to use whatever force possible to set me free.”

She looks around for the inevitable discussion.

Pertinax arches an eyebrow.

“A Vow of Purity? (OOC:Shudders at stuff from the Book of Exalted Deeds) Interesting. I have heard of such things. Aside from not touching dead flesh, can you eat meat?, what else does this entail?”

Turtle smiles uncomfortable, and visibly shies away from Florent’s proximity. “Umm, to answer your question Pertinax, foresaking meat is indeed part of the requirement. If I fight corporeal undead such as zombies, I will have to spend time re-purifying myself with prayer and holy water. I may also touch the dead if attempting to restore them to life.”

She wipes her hands. “I would submit to you all that there are times when we would not want someone else in our band to engage a beast hand-to-hand. Whether our friends are incapacitated {motioning to Furnock here} or grievously wounded themselves, it is sometimes making the situation worse having them enter the fray directly.” She shrugs. “Ultimately it is a personal choice, but I would not want someone else to die because of their efforts to save me. Better one drown than two, although I am sure we would all jump in the water to rescue each other.” Smile here.

Turning to Florent, the smile lessens. “Nay, shield brother, I have not entered the Watcher’s fold. While I have the upmost respect for the Vigilant One’s objectives, sadly, I could not commit to him. Helm is indeed lawful, but I have not seen the goodness that I am searching for within his followers.” Her eyes meet his. “I feel you are too zealous in carrying out what you see as his mission, and in the process, are ignoring vital Helmite dogma despite my warnings. Meanwhile those in Helm’s service living in Hommlett have clearly become too lax, allowing this evil {a gesture towards the Temple} to flourish. But it was visions of another being, one of both law and of good, which has guided my heart into the service of the Seven Heavens. And I am much at peace from it.” Her visage is of calm serenity.

SMG

Pertinax arches an eyebrow.

I knew Elves were the dnd equivalent of Vulcans!

“As for the other topic of conversation, in the spirit of the Shielding Alliance, I agree that we should each voice our wishes. If a creature has taken me into
it’s emrace, do not shoot. Just jump in and help me out like some of you did when the invisible thief critter attacked me. If I am suddennly in melee, do
not shoot either. Join me in melee.”

Furnock seems to be recovering slowly and puts a hand on Trevelyn’s
shoulder, speaking in elvish “Trevelyn do not get uncomfortable with this
talk of gods. Gods are for all people they are not the talk of priests, paladins, and clerics. Even the most evil of creatures, those stick-twurllers we have been cleaning out are believers of some diety. Gods are on the mouths of most people. Most people I have meet who complain about gods are those who were once idealists now pessimists. As to Tempus that is a strange god for a ranger-scout-paragon to follow. I thought most ranger-scout-paragons were followers of Lovethemostbenefitsnodrawbacks. I myself am favored by Helm, though I am a poor follower of his path. Isn’t that the entire point though, to struggle to attain the perfection of a diety knowing you make yourself greater in the process?”
Furnock then turns to Turtle “so der lov’y ‘un. Which sky-lord-ing be you’
‘un? Whats wid you’r chalky-board and tallies-oos? Who bee’s a-heed”
(Turtle looks clearly confused and starts to respond but doesn’t.)

Pertinax speaks

In lilting Espruar:
“Well said Furnock. The gods themselves bicker just
like we do. In my eyes worship is a personal act even
though I do consider myself an extension of Corellon
Larethian and hope to one day soon be an Eldritch
Knight in his service and wield a powerful bow that
crackles with his energy.”

In Common:
“The only thing I’ll say is that I am grateful to Helm
for his assistance, through Florent, and that without
him we would not have gotten this far or have a prayer
at defeating the evil cultists or that demoness.”

OOC:I think it’s awesome that Furnock speaks Elven so
clearly and Common so unintelligibly.

It is true that it might seem strange for a person
based of the wilds to favor Tempus, but there are only
two major deities on Moonshae: Chauntea, the Lady of
the Earth, and Tempus, the lord of Battle. My heart
truly has lain with the ideals of the warrior since I
was a child, perhaps mimicing the strife that I have
grown with. I do also revere the natural world and pay
tribute to Chauntea, for without her, we would not be
able to survive.

My only qualm with organized followers of any religion
is their pious attempt to sway everyone in their sight
to their patron. It seems we all hold beliefs in a
God, but only one of us cannot let us believe in our
gods, in peace. I dont try to sway your hearts to the
graces of Tempus. Nor does Pertinax attempt to sway
you to follow Correllon Larethian. Turtle speaks
vaguely of a God, about as vague as she is of herself,
yet she does not try to sway us either. Furnock, you
claim to believe in Helm, which is a good thing. Let
us be at peace with our own deity.”

Switching back to elvish, Furnock replys “we are all followers of a god yet
only one has been loud in his devotion in of late. Besides that one is young
to the ways of the world. Yet you accuse all followers of a diety as harshly
as only a minority act. That is straight ignorant foolishness. Ignore the
young cleric and act your age prince-ling. True nobilty is an act not a
birthright. I’m a drunk, a gambler, and a coward. I struggle with addiction
and weakness every day. Compassion and tolerance go farther than judgement and harsh words spoken in frustration.”

At this Turtle, with tears in her eyes strides over to the sullen rogue and gives him a tremendous hug, literally lifting the decadent gambler off his feet before placing him down quickly.

OOC: Theres a good reason why Furnock speaks excellent elven… although he isn’t a prince or anything.

BRIAN: Yeah…. he’s the Assassin
OOC: If Furnock didn’t speak elvish perfectly it would offend the ears of
any elf who heard it. Any elf might end his life for such a transgration.
Its best not to offend your betters.

Roberto/Pertinax: ood point. Carry on…

OOC: Furnock’s a street orphan. He was raised, in part, by an Elven scholar
in Waterdeep.

aka let's all convert to Helm!

A clearly confused Florent looks at Turtle. “You ‘ave taken vows?” A big smile of evangelic joy comes to his face. “Welcome to the fold of ‘Elm, Sister Turtel! This is great news. I know ‘Elm ‘ears my prayers. Praise be to ‘Elm!” Moving closer to Turtle he whispers “you can keep ‘aving sex and no break your vows, though. I no think this purity thing is requirement of ‘Elm. The Protector still answers my prayers after my exploits…” OOG: Bluff check?

“Trevelyan, you are next on my conversion list. And as for shooting at allies, I so no thank you pour moi. If there is good chance at ‘itting me, no shoot me. Step up and ‘elp our shoot something farther away.”

Turning to Florent, the smile lessens. “Nay, shield brother, I have not entered the Watcher’s fold. While I have the upmost respect for the Vigilant One’s objectives, sadly, I could not commit to him. Helm is indeed lawful, but I have not seen the goodness that I am searching for within his followers.” Her eyes meet his. “I feel you are too zealous in carrying out what you see as his mission, and in the process, are ignoring vital Helmite dogma despite my warnings. Meanwhile those in Helm’s service living in Hommlett have clearly become too lax, allowing this evil {a gesture towards the Temple} to flourish. But it was visions of another being, one of both law and of good, which has guided my heart into the service of the Seven Heavens. And I am much at peace from it.” Her visage is of calm serenity.

“That is alright, Turtel. No everyone can ‘as what it takes to be a priest of ‘Elm. The responsibilities and powers are both great. I am sure you will serve him well as his paladin, though. Let me know if you ‘ave trouble discerning the meaning of ‘Elm’s visions. For example, I am pretty sure ‘Elm only ‘as one ‘eaven, no seven. Your rookie mistake is understandable, for the mysteries of ‘Elm are great indeed!”

“Be sure she does not mean YOUR god Florent..

We each serve our own deities, or none at all, but I am pretty sure that you will not win any of us to Helm’s grace with your overzealous following.

When I grew up in the Shae I followed the Great Goddess Chauntea.. but I have moved further from her will as I continue on this path.In her stead I have
decided to follow the great Lord of Battles… Tempus. His will and actions are mare akin to my path and thus it is He whom I serve. I will not be swayed to follow Helm… for the models and examples he has provided thus far are not sufficient for my conversion. Though I am sure he is a great and benevolent god..

Florent says, “Pardon moi, messiur Treveylan, but you are mistaken. Great is the mercy of ‘Elm, but ‘e does ‘ave standards for ‘is followers. You are no in consideration for joining ‘is fold, barring a miracle of ‘is grace and power.”

OOG: For those of you keeping score, that would be dig, set, and spike. Side out, Hood.

Even Helms grace could not forgive your rash and blind devotion. But again I am not concerned for his grace or acceptance. But if he is such a forgiving deity, then as an example of his followers, shouldnt you also mimic his ideals and actions?

If greatness is determined by blindness. then you would be his greatest follower. However, I would rather be a one-eyed man among the blind if that is the case.

Florent, I do not want to argue with you… but it seems that is all you and I seem to do.

Turning to the rest, On the notion of SOP can we agree
not to try to convert anyone any further and leave the
topic of Gods amongst those that truly care to discuss
them, the priests and clerics.

<hick> Furnock bellows “can we add running away in melee to the SOP?” He giggles then continues “While we’re on the subject of what we do…” (He
then falls asleep)

NOTE: Taking Luke out of the mix since he’s asleep. :P And Pertinax is usually revelrieing.

Turtle frowns at the unconscious rogue and sighs heavily. “He can be such a handful.” Turning to Florent, she points a finger. “I think it is quite unfair to take issue with those who rely on missile weapons. The occasional stray shot is part of the hazards we face, as are the chances of a trap not being disarmed thanks to this one,” she jerks a thumb in the snoring rogue’s direction, “or a spell going wrong thanks to that one,” pointing to the revelried Pertinax, “or Helm’s grace failing.” She moves her shields to show her spikes.

“I’d rather have someone try with at least a reasonable chance of success and and fail, then hang back to let our real enemies have free shots. Nay, if I am in the front, than I am in the front.” She stands, getting ready to guard. “Do not hesitate for he who hesitates is lost. Let the arrows, bolts, and spells fall where they may.” Moving to the door. “I’ll take the first two shifts. Other volunteers?”

Florent begins the process of shedding his armor. “Pour moi, it is the ‘reasonable chance of success’ that is in question. When we are fighting up close, the probability of hitting un amis is too great, I am guessing from our past attempts, unless one is skilled with the weapons of range.” With this Florent dips his head to Sulmia.

Moving closer to his companions Florent asks, “What do we know of this elven champion?” Based on my ‘eal checks and ‘ealing, I can say he has great fortitude and when fully ‘ealed, would be more powerful than any of us individually. ‘Ave we learned anything specifically about ‘ow ‘e was captured?”

Furnock giggles then hick-ups (there appears to be a half empty wine bottle
poking from Furnock’s pocket. “Shirts get ruined, I needed a new one
anyways, one with more frills. I also need a scented hanky, the strong
smells are giving me a headache. <hick> ahhh. Trevelyn is there some way to
tell if those burned corpses are female? Anyway the elven head we found was
masculine. So there may be more elven prisoners than we know of. The lady
may still be alive.”

OOG: For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to assume that we’ll be resting sometime in the near future. This conversation is for when we’re resting

“At one time, mes amis, we ‘ad a conversation about ‘standard operating procedures’. It seems we ‘ave added shooting our compatriots to this list.” Speaking to the group Florent gives the ‘settle down’ gesture. “Before you get ‘eated, I acknowledge that accidents ‘appen, sometimes quite often. This is understandable. But it seems to moi that we should be able to get through encounter with no shooting ally in back. Turtle, your shield spike is the latest example of this. I am no tactician, but I no think shooting into melee when there is chance, and in our case, a good chance of hitting ally, is a good idea. Our record of track is no so good on this account, no? Can we make this new SOP?”

<hick> Furnock bellows “can we add running away in melee to the SOP?” He
giggles then continues “While we’re on the subject of what we do…” (He
then falls asleep)

“Unless of course, any of you who like shooting into
raging melees, learn the very elf-like skill of being
precise in your shots. I could teach anyone who is
interested.”

“Otherwise I’d refrain from doing it given our high
rate of shooting compatriots in the back.”

Furnock clutches his head and moans “oh yes.. what ever you say… no more
shooting into melee… oh my head” he starts grumbling and then goes to
whining, then pleading for more water.

Furnock looks at the ruined cuffs of his frilly shirt and sighs. (His
speech seems to be losing some of his strange accent, or maybe everyone is
just getting used to his strange speech) “Can Helm’s might do anything about
ruined cuffs? Or does it only affect mortal injuries? As to the Sir
Champion’s lady what does any of us know her fate?” Then Furnock looks over
at Pertinax and Trevelyn “If the lady is alive maybe there is some way to
track or locate her by magic or other means? We must press on and find out
her fate then return to town. Even if she is not alive, someone should let
Silverymoon know of her fate.”

Florent moves in front of Furnock. “Let moi see your cuffs, si vous plait.” He turns them over a couple times and grabs them just beneath the seams, and then rips one off. “There, mon ami. ‘Elm’s might has done something about your frilly shirt. Would you like a matching set?” Laughing to himself at his juvenille humor Florent addresses the elven champion and the rest of the party. “After resting and prayer I could ask ‘Elm for an augery that would give more direction about fate of elven lady. ‘Ave you the same divine abilities, sir Elf, or something similar? As for the guard duty during resting, I would like to take third shift so I can be awake to pray for spells at dawn. We can talk about plan while we prepare for night.”

Treveylan still slightly fuming about the “priest’s” issue with his
apology, steps between Furnock and Florent before anything more can happen,
“Look boy, while you may be the so-called healer of this outfit, in no way
does that give you ANY right to besmirch anyone in this party. If you still
have a problem with me, then take it out on me. Do not resort to childish
antics that may get you hurt. Just so you know… I am not threatening to
hurt you. But if you continue to act like you have just done, your sway
over any us will surely wain. Now grow up and act like a man. You are
supposed to be a hero, a symbol of a leader. But if you persist in acting
like a child, you will be treated no better than a child.”

Florent takes a moment to see if Treveylan is serious or not. He then laughs out loud. “You are a most amusing petit half man. Did you really think Furnock was serious when he asked ‘if the might of ‘Elm could help is silk shirt?’ Did you think I would ‘eal it, or maybe call for a blessing? No. He was no serious, and opposite of serious is joking. Kidding. Playful banter. You see where we are going with this. I pulled the cuff off his shirt that was already ruined. Was this a grievious injury? No, mon ami. This is what friends do. Playfully make fun of each other. Laugh together in the face of dangers. ‘Ave you already forgotten what it means to be part of an alliance? In alliance we give each other benefit of the doubt. For this reason I will assume you were not once again giving veiled threats, but trying to join in the ‘umor. But please, ‘ow many times do we ‘ave to tell you to lighten up?!?” Florent walks over to Furnock smiling broadly and bows low. “For besmirching your fine silly shirt, I mean frilly shirt, I apologize. Once I find out what besmirch means, I will really be sorry.”

OOG: Is the Jeffers fellow still here? I thought he was.

“Sir Jeffers, can you pray for spells ‘ere, or do you need to be in the open air under the light of the moon? I know midnight approaches quickly, so this seems like logical next step.”

OOG: If Jeffers isn’t here, or even if he is, can anyone else answer the question whether a priest of Selune has to be outside to pray for spells?

Making sure to stand between Furnock and Florent, keeping an eye on
Furnock, more than anyone else, he continues on, “I fear that Sir Juffer’s
mistress is dead. We found 3 bodies… all of which seemed very much like
Elven bone and body structure. And if Sir Juffer claims that he came in
with 3 others, then those 3 bodies may very well be theirs. It is difficult
to say it as they have most likely died unjustfully, but the evil grows in
this foul place, and we must do what we can to quell it. I would agree with
Furnock that we need to get Sir Juffer back under the moonlight, the source
of his patron deity. Silverymoon must be made aware of the travesty, the
sooner they know, perhaps they will assist us in our plight?”

CHRIS: Once is an accident. It happens to everyone. Battle is messy, and misfires are the norm.

Twice is a mistake. Bad judgement to shoot into melee again. Forgetting principle one that battle is messy.

Three times? Shooting a front line defender in the back three times? Especially when said frontline defender has been beaten down and is near death? And when their are other bad guys who are not in melee that could also be targeted?

All of this could have been forgiven with an expression of sincere regret and an apology. It seems logical if you shot someone in the back for a third time and brought him to death’s doorstep, you would be apologetic. But when confronted with the assault, the half elf responds with another threat. Not an apology but a threat. Que’se que ce? What is this?

Florent stews uneasily in the back of the Team Beta, trying to rid himself of dark thoughts and questions about Treveylan’s commitment to the ‘Shielding Alliance’.

OOFH: (Out Of Florent’s Head): Funny as hell. What an epic session. I still can’t believe Florent’s been shot three times in the back in a matter of weeks by someone whose favored enemy is humans. Coincidence? Now I’ve got the Lionel Richie song stuck in my head. I could even see a music video with the times the prince shot the teen in slow motion.

BRIAN: Is are all the statements before the OOFH in character??

ROBERTO: Why ask? Just go postal. It’ll be funny.

CHRIS: Now that was funny. Humor award of the day goes to Dr. Vargas. You can pick up your statuette next week.

CHRIS: Statements before OOFH are IOFH (Inside Of Florent’s Head). They are my attempt to use Florent’s interior monologue as a re-cap technique and to be funny. If you’re asking can Treveylan hear what Florent is thinking, “you can TRY anything” as the DM likes to say. My guess is no.

BRIAN: can hear the thoughts of most humans, as they cannot seem to keep their thoughts within their heads for long ; )

It started out as a standard session. Sneaky types loot the bodies and search for secret doors/traps while tin man/woman types guard the exits and heal those they can. The end results of these efforts were three secret doors, a bunch of magic stuff, and boots of Cat’s grace that Sulmia took dibs on. A debate then continued, in typical Shielding Alliance fashion. Do we stay put and try to cast the Hallow scroll, requiring 24 hours, do we investigate the immediate area to be certain we won’t be interrupted during the spell casting, or do we run like chicken’s back to Homlette? (We had to at least acknowledge the Furnock vote.) To be fair even the blinded by faith Helmite was uncertain whether they could pull off the 24 hour Hallow spell, so the party agreed to at least check the exits to be sure imminent danger did not lurk.

It did.

This is where it gets sketchy. We open one of the secret doors and hear ominous barking noises that seem to have common phrases mingled with the big dog barks. Stairs ahead descend another 30 ft. Those present go on the assumption that this door will lead back to the troll room, even though the dumb as dirt cleric points out we are no longer even with that level. The half blood prince forges ahead down a long stair case (you would think Raspy had gotten over his death wish in the Thursday campaign) as the rogue “makes sure the secret door doesn’t close behind us leaving us trapped.” Kudos to Austin for doing the best Furnock/Luke/coward impersenation, without having been introduced to either. The Razzie award goes to Chris for playing Luke/Furnock as the characther quoted saying “Today is a good day to die.” after Austin had to head home and Chris took over NPCing Furnock. At least I kept him behind the shield wall.

Moving ahead, the shield wall forms and ranged attacks are exchanged. The worg retreats, replaced by some beefed up bug bears. Things get ugly when the bug bears adapt their strategy from trying to shoot at the shield wall from afar, to running up and dragging the shield wall down with them. As the onslaught comes forward, Florent feels a familiar tingle surge up his arm from his ring of free action that says, “you are so damn lucky you kept this ring”. Florent takes his free action to give her a “I told you so” look before she is dragged down the stairwell in a blur of bug bear and shields. Unfortunately the pile unfolds at the bottom of the stairs, with Turtle at the feet of a giant and a couple other bad ass MFers.

At this point the DM wisely calls a TO in the action due the fact of the missing players and their character sheets. The encounter has become too critical to assume an NPC’s character sheet. On top of this, that damn cheating Frenchmen tried to give a scroll of stinking cloud to the NPC Pertinax, when he’d already used this spell. After Florent tried to submit his prayed for spell list after the encounter was over a couple weeks ago, his credibilty is out the window. This only reinforced the experience.

In plan B fashion we decided to table the DnD experience in favor of another game. This was done so that those absent would not lament the demise of their characters after they were all decimiated, except Furnock, of course. We also wanted to punish Roberto for not answering the pages of “chaplain Hood”, so we played a rousing game of Puerto Rico. I don’t remember who won that game, but me and Dan weren’t trying anyway, so if Brian won is was a charity victory. (At this point the author succumbs to his bitterness and moves quickly towards the conclusion of this epic, extra XP deserving e-mail.)

Thanks to Dan for rallying on a short staffed week.

For everyone, please send an ‘e’ copy of your character to the rest of us in cyber space so we can print them out as necessary. Paper copies are encouraged as well.

Come next week to see if Turtle can stay within her shell long enough for fold to arrive, or at least long enough for one of use to grab a scrap of he DNA to have her raised from the dead. (I’m always the optimist.) Come see Florent elevated to the pope of the church of Helm and given near divine status. (This may not happen next week, but stay tuned.)

A few clarifications to make more sense out of what otherwise seems insensible. First, Pertinax used READ MAGIC on runes around the altar and was able to discern that they were very powerful glyphs. So climbing out of the chute via standing on top of said altar and using the rope of climbing was not an option. Furnock was going to try a way and open all the doors, but then Turtle pointed out that if they were going to ‘unhallow the unhallow’ than leaving the doors closed would help them defend the area.

Furnock couldn’t find anything that would open the doors, assuming they were ‘magically done’ making it a moot argument. Pertinax used DETECT MAGIC and then IDENTIFY from the Monacle to learn that the boots were of Cat’s Grace +4. There is also a magical ring and a magical cloak; the cloak having diamonds in the shape of the necklace of the firetemple. One of two potions is LESSER RESTORATION.

Furnock proceeds to discover 3 or 4 secret doors and after gathering up our hard-earned plunder thanks to Haversacks, we use Pertinax’s map to go out the secret door that looks to head in the direction of where we have previously been. It does dip down, but so have other corridors and when we see red eyes/hear barking, the plan was to shut the dog up, since it was chained up, making it susceptible to sneak attacks if the rogue had shot at it. (now its loose and ran in back)

We took too long to do this, it barked replies and then bugbears, followed by an ogre, and then giant feet showed up. Then another ogre and some more bugbears showed up during the exchange. Retreating into the ‘-4 to us/+4 to them’ room didn’t seem like a good idea, hence the holding the line. However, grappling appears to be the widespread ram that too easily knocks the line down.

Dan asked if we wanted to freeze the action, and without knowing what spells the pearl of power could recall, we agreed. I would have given anything to have had an area spell. Now, it is all up to a soon-to-be HASTED and fire-sword-wielding Treveylan plus a much more dextrous Sulmia to pull my shelled arse out of the fire.

On 3/27/06, Bell, Daniel (Dan) <daniel> wrote:

Also, to clarify, I should have set the base DC of Turtle's balance check at 10, not 15. Nonetheless, the add to the DC was 7 (difference in grapple check) and 2 for being on the stairs. Total DC was 19, I think Turtle got 17.

HEY! If I’d have known that, I would have rolled it. Actually, I had 2 kinds of rolls last night: Chris-like and lower than Chris-like. The one time I hit with a missiled shield spike, I did a whopping 1 point of damage. My highest roll was a 19- for Pertinax’s initiative.

Momentum of the fall prevented a second balance or reflex to check the fall. That and 450 pounds of bugbear falling with her.

We need to leave the ‘low fat’ iron rations lying around with some ‘headbands of exercise.’

SMG

p.s. the room they are coming out of is triangular-shaped, with the point away from the stairs.

After a few days of much needed recouping in town and placing orders, the
party adventures back to the Temple, anticipating that the followers have
more than likely regrouped and prepared for their return. A forced march
will bring the party back to the Temple in good time.

On the trip back to the Temple, the party discusses the idea of debt,
again. The half-elf scout stays ahead, trying to determine if new movement
or activity has taken place. To his chagrin, there are fresh footprints…
or as fresh as a week would allow. This time there are wolves prints,
bugbear prints and humanoid prints mingled together in no real pattern. The
prints are mingled outdoors, and the tracks lead inside heading toward the
rear of the temple going both East and West.

He is about to speak when a thrumming resounds in his ears as he
consciously attempt to hear…. he raises his hand for silence and the
party’s conversation slowly dies out. Brum… brum… brum… a rhythmic
pulsing from what seems to be the only logical place… the temple.

The party decides to head West, choosing to favor a path they are quite
familiar with, and have thus far cleared. As the scouting part of the party
moves ahead a feminine scream is heard off in the distance, by the scout,
and the rogue. They signal to the party and dash off in double time toward
the scream, the dual shielded fighter keeping pace with them both. Rounding
the corner, the half-elf is only hesitant as he is about to hold his
breath, but realizes that he has come farther into the hallway where the
party had difficulty breathing before.

The drumming is vastly louder, pierced only in fragments by the screams…
and then he sees it off in the distance a monstrous arm bearing a great
club the size of a tree, raising and lowering in time with the drumming.
Though his heart skips a beat, he does not stop, and sees that Furnock and
Turtle both are keeping up with him. Sliding to a halt at the top of the
stairs does he see the enormity of the drummer; an ogre, whose eyes are
seemingly sown shut, beating down on the massive drums.

His eyes scan the room further to see a priest to the right full adorned in
metal, golden skulls adorning his cloak, as well as mask on his face.
Another priest is to the left, similarly adorned, but nearly as
elaborately. They each stand beside a humanoid shape on alters, that
flank…. he nearly lets loose a slight shudder from his lips, as he sees
the five-headed lizard laying on the altar… sleeping it would seem, for
now.

Without hesitation, he lets fly an arrow at each of the priests, hoping
that he will draw their attention away from their sacrifices. The first
shot carroms off the priest to the right, the second shot finds its’ mark.
He runs down the stairs to the left to keep his focus on the priest he has
hit already, and does so. The next few minutes seemed to dragon for years.
Drums flying and Turtle fighting with the priest and the Ogre blow for
blow. And then from nearly nowhere, a werewolf!! He does what he can to aid
those in need, taking shots where he can, careful not to hit his
compatriots. He sinks a few more shots into the priest, and then does he
realize he is too close. The Ogre, though blind, can seem to sense him, by
some unknown sort, perhaps by smell. The Ogre closes the distance between
them, and he is no match for such a hulking foe. He tries to doge and avoid
the beasts bladed gauntlets, but one slips past his defenses piercing his
stomach and drawing forth much blood and gore. Grasping for his last straw,
he runs away from the Ogre in a circuitous route, and tries to get past the
priest again. The Ogre closes the distance again, this time blasting the
blades through his back, blood pouring from his back, his stomach, and his
mouth, he staggers toward the priest hoping to get away from the Ogre and
the priest, but as he passes the priest lets loose his tentacles whip,
striking his lifeblood form its hod as he falls to the ground at the
priests feet without a sound.

Surveying the carnage admiringly, Turtle lets out a long whistle. She
moves over to a werewolf corpse and delivers a boot to its head.
“Well that was unexpected.” Walking over to Treveylan she grins and
says; “You look like I feel.” And then motions Florent over.

“I will stand guard while Furnock checks the bodies, Florent uses the
grace of Helm to heal everyone, and Pertinax sees if we can use any of
this equipment. Sulmia, are you and your shadow ok?”

OOG: if its acceptable with Dan, doing the cure spells and DETECTMAGIC ahead of time would be cool, along with using the Monacle’s
IDENTIFY on anything that multiple people could wear; magicla boots
for example.

Florent says: “This place is most evil. More than simple consecration can redeem, I fear. I ‘ave a scroll of ‘allow, but it is most powerful. It take much time to prepare, and even then I no sure I ‘ave strength of ‘Elm enough to cast it.” Rare moment of humility for Florent, but quickly rushes ahead. “Also, it take 24 hours to cast, and I no sure this is safe or possible now. ‘Owever, I no want to leave such a den of evil to rebuild. I must take time to discern will of ‘Elm”

wherein Turtle defends the procdeures & wrangling of the group, her new shields, and what the Shielding Alliance has done where the town has not

Turtle waits for the tirade to end, looking to see if Treveylan wants to speak next. Seeing the half-elf taciturn, she responds. “I think our group has been quite generous with our coin in the town. Moreover, our impact overall has been positive and we are, perhaps, finally accepted. The so-called charts and graphs and argument over ‘coppers’ is what makes things run properly; without order there is chaos and where there is chaos there is evil.

“I am frankly puzzled at the lack of response from the town. It was one thing not to care when it was just us newcomers exploring ruins, rooting out bandits, but the situation has become much more than we can handle on our own, and yet those in Homlett who could join us choose to ignore the danger. They instead build a tower that may matter for nothing. It is THEY who have forgotten their true duties,
THEY who have allowed the cancer to return.

It also does not speak well for the Watcher’s Chosen when this all happens in the area they are charged with defending. You should be upset at them, for had we not happened upon each other accidentally, the Temple would have been unchecked completely. As it is we have already seen the absolute destruction of the Earth Temple, and have
struck several blows against Fire. Is it only on the 6 of us to do everything?!

No one will be ‘fired’ for lack of success- it is the heart that matters. And while I am sorry that your shadow was hurt in that battle, it would not have happened if we had been told about it.”

(she holds up her hand)

“Please do not try to compare your
familiar-thing to my new shields, for they are not the same. In any case, the group had at least some idea that my arms would be different if for no other reason that their upgrading was a reason for the much-complained about ten day. The shadow was a complete surprise.

“If we do not make serious preparations, if we do not stop this compulsive ‘we must return immediately’ manner, we will go back unprepared and to our doom, and it will be the town in ruins, and the forces of Evil dividing the spoils.”

After watching some Holy Grail, Turtle was able to convince Florent
that looking for the bedrooms of the 3 ‘evil adventurers’ (the
half-orc cleric, the wizard, and the other guy) would be worth
checking the 2 doors. He also was astute in his calculation that this
room would be similar in size to the other bedchamber.

Pertinax had hypothesized that heading out from the South door would
lead back to the Temple’s main entrance, and, given the average size
of the rooms encountered so far, would be reached in 3-4 rooms.

Florent was able to convince, via suggestions of close treasure, a
reluctant Sir Robin (aka Furnock) to press on, and he found traps on
neither door. Turtle opened the Southern door first, into some kind
of evil throne room devoted to fire, complete with skulls and
tapestries. The half-Elf switched spots with her, and noticed that
the emblem on the tapestries was the same as on the back of Feldron’s
cloak. (i.e a big red skull)

There was an OOG discussion about the realistic-ness of Taking 20 to
Open Locks/Find Traps, particularly in regard to obnoxiously high
Halfling rogues.

Turtle opened the other door, and it indeed appeared to be another
bedroom. Of obvious note was a bronze chest, which Furnock was able
to get open and a small box. {I believe there were scrolls inside,
among them SHOUT, REMOVE CURSE, and TRUE STRIKE, one of my favorite
spells.

Hearing voices/sounds from the South (from the throne room) the gang
decided to call it a day, with the half-elf and Turtle pushing yet
another bed against the door. Pertinax got slightly pyro-istic, using
his 2 flasks of oil to set the bedroom and the pillow room on fire.

Turning around the corner to head back, we spied 2 bugbears and some
archerish dude who shot fire arrows at us. The soon-to-be-named
Shielding Alliance formed (what else) a shield wall) and proceeded to
try some missile fire/non-wanded Mahjaynar at them, with limited
succes. Florent had finally decided to use his tower shield the way
it was meant to be used, taking full cover, and then repeatedly asking
what the plan was. Sulmia used both her shadow and a decoy shadow on
one of the bugears.

After there was a lot of missing with a bunch of Sulmia/Treveylan
arrows from behind the shield wall, Turtle charged, got whacked by a
bugbear’s AoO that ‘felt like you’ve been hit by a giant.” We were
able to dispose of the bugbears thanks to some HIGH ELVEN VENGEANCE
but not before one of them swallowed a potion of healing. {sigh}

The fire-fighter proved to be a little trickier, wielding a flaming
longsword and axe. Pertinax missed with his arrows and a RoE, but
used the Pearl of Power to get a DETECT MAGIC to learn that the banded
mail (which apparently still exists in 3.5 even though no one ever
wears it) was magical.

We sleddishly dragged it and the other armors to safety, and then
Florent, in a rare moment of wisdom, suggested we go back to town.
We headed back, having the infamous “Conversation B’ along the way,
thereby officially becoming the Shielding Alliance featuring Trevelan,
along with fugitives from a racist Elf King. (As if there was any
other kind)

Pertinax was mindful in using the monacle to IDENTIFY items, learning
that the longsword was a longsword +1, +2D6 flaming damage. There
were actually 3 pearls available in town, and most of the other stuff
was +1, except for suit of half-plate which was ‘protection from good’
or some crap. Turtle suggested it was time to finally buy a BEAD OFBLESSING, whereupon Sulmia bought 6 potions of Cure Serious Wounds.
She and Turtle had it out about the sense of spending half of what the
bead would cost on one-shot potions.

Pertinax headed up to meet with Burns about how to kill a
fire-breathing hydra, and see if he could trade scrolls/get ink for
his spellbook. Turtle and the gang stopped by the alchemist shop to
pick up their much-waited tanglefoot bags/flash pellets.

The shopkeeper harrangued them for not getting it last week, for which
the group blamed the over-eager Elf for his Hoody-Con demands to
“let’s go kill something.”

Dan mentioned starting earlier next week. We all decided to call it a
night around 10, as everyone was beat and stopping at town seemed a
logical point. Dan will email XP for the encounters, roleplaying in
session, and last week’s dozens of emails.

so the group has a new name. {cough}

Florent rises from his prostration towards the rising sun as he concludes his morning prayers. “Praise be to ‘Elm. ‘E ‘as ‘eard my supplications, and granted ‘is ‘ealing power.” He tries to convey confidence as he makes this proclamation, but the relief is evident in his face. It was a harrowing retreat from the Temple, and many in the party were sorely wounded. If Helm had not answered his pleas for the divine grace to heal, they would been in desparate straights. Knowing he has their attention now, he repeats his urgent message. “Remember, though, I agree to return to ‘Omlette because we need two full days to regain divine and arcane strength, and so it make sense to unload all this gear anyway.” He points towards the make shift sled he has been dragging behind him. “We can report back, place orders if needed, and buy necessary supplies, like 4 more bolts for Furnock. But I will no stay in town longer than is absolutely necessary. No ten day delay, no lapse in vigilance. I intend to return to our mission of crushing evil under ‘and of ‘Elm toute suite. No delay. I leave day after tomorrow at mid morn to return to Tempel. I ‘ope full strength of Alliance de Shielding is with me, but I no delay longer than this.” Florent turns to those most wounded and blows his divine wad of healing, [scratch that,] and expends all his healing power in an attempt to bring everyone back to full strength.

OOG: I’m not sure when exactly Florent is talking- on the way back to
the Temple (I.e just after the B-Conversation or was he saying this
after we were already back?

” I ‘ope full strength of Alliance de Shielding is with me, but I no delay longer than this.”

Turtle bites down a mean frown, looking obviously upset. “I will not discuss anything else of seriousness tonight. On one hand we have made much progress towards our group yet on the other there is the surprising news of Elvish assassins.” She holds up her hands respectfully. “No more arguing tonight friends. I would have us sleep on what we’ve learned, and add to your thoughts that while Helm is indeed watchful, it was actually a simple potion that saved Sulmia
from the headed beast and an arcane fire amulet which saved me from the burning sword and axe. No diety or even his one of his agents.”
She holds said arcane amulet out. “I can normally endure much pain even without such magics so I will just have to be more careful, because I cannot afford to keep this.” She pulls it off and offers the jewelry outstretched. “It should be around the neck of someone else anyways.”

(Furnock pulls the stopper from a old potion bottle and swigs its contents.)
Furnock shouts in with his somewhat intelligable accent “What!? Did you forget the many headed fire belching beast? You and Florant are the primary defence aginst such a threat and now you don’t want to carry the protecting fire necklace because you might have to give up some shine! We are headed
into the FIRE Temple now! (swigs more of the contents of the bottle) Now you don’t need the expensive life saving FIRE protecting necklace. You are penny wise and pound foolish! An to add insult to injury you offer it to one us knowing full well the newly established rules concerning party and
individual debt. Debt is OK for Florant but mighty fighters need no protection! It stinks like the stench from carrion crawler’s nest. Furnock spits on the ground and begins kicking grass and dirt at Turtle. He stumbles then drains the rest of the bottle’s contents.

The elf moves quickly to try and defuse the situation.
“No need to get this emotional. In any case, I do agree that it’s best Turtle keeps the necklace at least until we are done fighting the denizens of the
Fire Temple. We could sell it then, if no one is interested in it.”

As the intoxicated gambler’s feet chuck dirt at her Turtle’s eyes narrow and she begins reaching for her shields with practiced hands.
The Elven voice seems to calm her intentions, and soothed, she relaxes a little. “I fear it has already gotten emotional. I have been lied to, derided, and now openly mocked.” She points a finger at Furnock.
“It is unwise to insult people, especially when you’re drunk and they’re not. I am asking you politely not to do so, less I become too angry for even Elven words.”

Looking back and forth between Sulmia and Treveylan. “Anyone else care to disparage me? If not than we should make haste for the town.”

Sulmia, “Seems to me some of us need to decide where their loyalties lie. I hear plenty of talk about saving a town an’ adopting a name of heroics. This from the same mouths that split coppers like a Calimshan moneychanger.

Give the damn sword to the elf, hang the magic jewels around Turtle’s neck, and to hell with the charts and graphs!

I give insult to the idea that you are all giving weight to splitting of treasure when the lands around you, lands filled with people with less than it takes to clean your shield, or power your spells, or train your hands for battle, or dress you to your whims, those people are what suffer should we fail.

We’ve an opportunity to strike deep to the heart of something that has grown like a cancer beneath our feet. Do we treat our company like a business in fear, wondering if our ‘due’ will come if someone who heals us, or shields us, can’t hand over the coin? Are you to fire me because my arrows will not pierce the enemy? Have you recompense for the shadow of mine you attacked, a blow that I felt in my own bones? Are all of you to add price to that, as well?

I will be happy to quibble over spoils when the Elemental Temple lies in ruins, not a moment before.”

“Well spoken, mon cheri. You ‘ave the wisdom of ‘Elm, and I thank you for making truth clear pour moi. I share your sense of urgency and priorities, and once again say we must go back toute suite, right away. Agree you that we ‘ead back morning after tomorrow? 48 hours is enough time for place orders, buy supplies, and prayer before ‘Elm, no?”

OOG: We seem to have fluxuations in the space time continuim here in the Heartlands. This time its my fault for backing up the conversation to before we got back into Homlette. In game I know we got back and talked to some people, etc. What time/day was it when we ended our session? My guess is that we’ve been back in town for a day and a half now, and its late afternoon, evening. That about right?
OOG: I tried to describe the fact that Florent was speaking in the morning after the first night away from the Temple, and after the nobility revelation, hence the praying for spells at dawn, etc. I’ll drop more hints next time. Florent knew that they would be back in town that same day, and wanted to convey the message that he felt its should be as short of a return trip as possible. Hence the conviction to be back on the road to the Temple 48 hours from “now” when they woke up a half day from town.

“Turtel, how you say you no afford to keep amulet, yet you say amulet save your life? I see this with my own eyes. Plus you already make choice to ‘ave it identified, wear it through fire Tempel, get great use out of it, and now say can no keep it. This sound like you want to ‘ave cake and sell it too, ‘alf eaten. Why you speak of economy and what you afford? Party can no afford you die while we in ‘eat of battle. If this is about you wanting to get share of gold for selling item, than this is selfish to me, no selfless like you make it seem. For good of party who better to wear necklace than Alpha team door kicker opener?”

I thought we had “just” gotten back to town… we had talked a bit.. but not too much. I don’t think a day and a half in town is right, but what does a Half-Elf know about time ; )D

Argue? Us?

The DM can clear this up, but I thought we arrived in town late the first day, since it takes a day and a half to get back from the temple. I then thought we rested and identified a bunch of stuff, which would put us into the second day in Homlette. Either way, Florent wants to hit the road ASAP.

OOG: This time its my fault for backing up the conversation to
before we got back into Homlette.

*I think that was a pretty realistic way to get stuff accomplished
ont he way back so that we’re not spending too much time in town
talking amongst ourselves; discussing party stuff on the journey back
makes good use of the trip, while giving us privacy. Can we have a
player vote that it’ll be SOP?

In game, there was the A-Conversation of how to leave the Temple, then the ‘seraching of/setting fire to’ the rooms, then the battle, then the leaving, then the B-Conversation with the naming. Then maybe we
argued about the necklace and some other things (which we’re doing right now via emails), then we got back to town, bought some pearls, etc.

Where are heroes learn of a surprising secret that causes the group some duress.

Furnock, riled with energetic enthusiasm hollers, “Here here! I vote keep the name. As a man who has often gotten a bad reputation for no reason what so ever,” he states sarcastically, “I believe its better to have a name we have chosen rather than a possible negative name. NO UNANIMUS VOTES!” the gambler bellows excitedly, thumping Pertinax on the back. The Elf coughs, attempts to not fall off his seat, barely managing.

There is a small chorus of cheers. The elf clears his throat quite dramatically. “With four votes for keeping the voting system as is, and four votes to keep our group name, these questions seem settled. We are the Shielding Alliance,” he announces.
More cheers. “Furnock, I am still curious to know if the townspeople have named us. Have you heard anything?”

From Elvish to Common: As far as Furnock knows ‘no,’ the townspeople haven’t given us a name. Furnock votes for a retreat by the safest (i.e.) route we know and have just used. Trevelyan express your opinion; Furnock does and never to his detriment. When he disagrees with plunging on deeper into the temple he whines about it or gives up searching for traps as a sign of protest. Your opinion and vote counts but we all have to make compromises to get anything done. We have a demon to slay. It’s about give and take…”

Trevalyn shakes his head and affirms angrily, “I have given enough in my life…I have sacrificed all that I am…All that I could have been…And yet nothing changes…” The half-Elf scornfully stares around with resentful eyes “No matter what I have said, none of you have really entertained my ideas…I will say no more…” His body sulks.
“That is all.” Then, grumbling under his breath, “Alliance… really.”

Pertinax arches his eyebrow. “I can’t speak for the rest but I did consider your words. I just diagree. Why are you taking this so hard? It’s just a name.” Turtle makes another face at this last statement yet again keeps quiet. “And when did you sacrifice all that you are? What does that even mean?” His light hands wave about exasperatedly. “These things aren’t usually enough to overwhelm my keen Elven intellect but you sir, have managed to do it. I don’t understand.” The humans chuckle at this admission.

Treveylan says nothing for over a full minute, the only sound being an occasional popping from the fire. “When I left the Shea, I left on the wrong terms with me father… Tis been weighin on me mind ever since.” He places his hands upon a furrowed brow.
“I left angry, said many things I wish I hadn’t…because he told me the truth about me mother… She was the one who made me half as noble as you are Pertinax…sort of. She was the Elven King’s daughter… She and my father fell in love…despite the xenophobic nature of the King.” He has everyone’s full attention. “My mother gave me up, so that me father could raise me…away from her father, who wanted me dead. As far as he knows, I am dead…,” his statement ends with almost a moan.

Pertinax’s head shakes. “A very sad story indeed. It would seem you are royalty. I still don’t see what this has to do with our current naming situation though and your reaction to our vote. I am as confused as I was before your story. Just sadder.”

“I suppose my hesitancy regarding the party’s vote has nothing to do with my past but I do not want to make it easier for him to find me…” Treveylan keeps his head down. “I was hidden for a while…but the notoriety of a Half-Elf ranger does not remain hidden for long in the Shae. The Elven king abhors half-blooded beings more than he does Humans and I hate him more for what he has done to my mother and father than anything else,” his hands squeeze together in rage, as if by will alone he could put them around that distant neck to strangle.
Composed, he goes on. “I am sorry… I care not about the name. But I will not wear any marker that indicates my allegiance to the group. If only to stave of his search for me.”
So it’s the Shielding Alliance, is it? Not very apropos, as only two of the party bear shields. But then, what does a name really mean?” He smiles slightly at the jest.

Turtle waits for the Elves to finish, before speaking slowly, as if making herself be patient. “No one is going to be forced to wear anything.” {pause} “I would think however, that by now I’ve explained enough why a name has importance, even if only to some of us.” {another pause} “And I have also clarified on several occasions how the ‘shielding’ part, while having some literal basis, is more descriptive about our goal of protecting the weak. In any event, the vote has been made, the die cast.” {long pause} “We are The Shielding Alliance, and may we each Stand And Be True, all through our final breath.” She makes a quick genuflecting gesture, exhales and speaks normally. “Treveylan, by ‘him’ I take you mean this Elven King or his agents? Do you have reason to suspect that they are actively looking for you? Should we be wary of this?” She looks around as if expecting Elven vengeance to come raining down or errant arrows to come flying out of the darkness.

“And this was sin against your mother and father was…exile? Imprisonment? Her face shows a deep sympathy. “I too have had my family broken, through faults from everyone and no one. We drift on god-blown seas, to be sent heading towards unknown shores.”
She sighs tiredly for a second time. “Life is a troublesome lot for many who live it.”

Florent is deeply confused. “Eir to the throne but no way to prove it or claim it? Reluctant to enter Shielding Alliance and recently shot me in the back… Tell moi, this recent communication about your ‘eritage and birthright, is it an Elvish kind of recent meaning some time in the past decade, or are you receiving communication in recent days between trips to the Tempel?” Florent rubs the fresh scar the half-elf who seems to hate humans recently gave him. “Your story is grand, but surely you understand that it seem far fetched.”

“Florent… I have been carrying this information with me even before we met. It is why I crossed the sea to escape the Ilse… to avoid being killed by the King or his servants. My mother is the Kings daughter. Therefore I am a would-be prince. Would-be in the sense that if the King died, I am the next male in the bloodline and would therefore inherit the title if the King died. Again. I am sorry I shot you, it was an accident and I had no intention of harming you. I know my words mean nothing to you, but it is all I can provide at this time.”

Sulmia scolds from darkness. “My, your a plague of sadness on even my shadows. I suppose I can’t imagine how it feels to be part of the faerie folk and have centuries of dwelling on the past to look forward to.” Pertinax’s facial expression confirms this.

The half-Elf squirms, noticeably uncomfortable with the party’s focus on his past.
“My frustration lies with the idea that I cannot return home. I am not sure we should fear the King or his agents. He may have servants who are hunting for me, but I am not sure.
I am technically the next male heir to the throne… So perhaps I am a threat to him.
My mother had a choice, kill me or be killed herself. That is how I came to be raised by my father. I just recently learned all this about my past, and is why I have not really been open with you all. I suppose the naming of our group has caused me to become restless, as mine own name is dangerous enough for me. I am sorry.” He sounds genuine and more than one comrade is showing sympathy.

Furnock shakes his head and tries to straighten his utterly destroyed lace collar. His speech is garbled and mingles several accents but the gist is; “I knew a whore in Baldur’s Gate who had a story, she said was the long lost daughter of the Pasha of Calimport, now SHE was a FANTASTIC regardless of her sob story! So don’t you worry Treveleyn, your story doesn’t seem to be effecting your killing skills in the least.” Furnock believes that this is consolation. He even moves to pat Treveleyn on the back.

Turtle inhales a deep breath and lets it out gradually. “OK. Better late than never. Certainly, if we had been attacked by Elvish assassins, this would be a VERY different conversation.” She tries to stymie a glare, starts, but softens. “There is still confusion here. On the one hand, you are ‘not sure we should fear the king’ yet you feared him enough to cross the sea.” Her fingers tally the list voice gradually rising as she traces back through what he’s told so far. “You then speculate offhandedly that you are ‘perhaps a threat to him,’ yet you- a half-breed whom he abhors, would inherit his throne. You claimed mere minutes ago that your “hesitancy regarding the party’s {name} has nothing to do with my past,” yet JUST NOW you re-canted, saying the naming of our group has caused you to become ‘restless’ whatever the hells that is supposed to mean.” She spits on the ground. “I would have excused the ‘just recently learned’ part of this ever-evolving narrative, as I realize the Elvish mind sees time differently. To us mere humans such a statement would imply, like Florent asked, between forays into the Temple. But we have spilled enough blood enough times by now to have warranted forewarning sooner, especially since you have known before you even met us.”

She shakes her head. “Especially since it could put our lives in jeopardy.”

I have to say that whole exchange was even funnier the second time I read it. Thank you, Steve. Most entertaining.

I especially liked the “Half-Blood Prince” document title. I can even see the Snape/Treveylan comparisons at work…

I suppose these emails would have more meaning if I > had a computer, and was able to open attachments…

“I suppose my hesitancy regarding the partys has nothing to do with my past…”
“I suppose the naming of our group has caused me to become restless, ”
“I suppose I can’t imagine how it feels to be part of the faerie folk”
‘I suppose if I make a character with the background of threatening an
Elven KIng’s throne it may one day come back to bite me in the ass.
And I suppose this might make my other party members may be upset at
this.’ ’;P

it was not intended as a slight against your work
Steve.. If that is how it came across.

I am sure it is an exceptional piece of writing…

The party has every right to be mad at Treveylan for
this.. Hes used to people being angry with him, so
this wont be any different from what he is used to.

wherein our heroine explains her thought process behind 'Shielding Alliance', as well as some secrets

Turtle leans forward, seemingly eager to go first. “Treveylan, indeed spoke well. If I am to understand Pertinax’s summations, there is a motion regarding unanimity for subsequent motions to pass- or in short, we need to vote to see if all future votes need to be all yea to pass.” She smiles. “Fairness is indeed tough is it not?” A few others agree.
“I vote ‘nay’ regarding all or nothing. I care about everyone, but we each see the world in various, sometimes quite opposite ways. I would think it nigh impossible to get us to always agree, and if so, we’d not be able to decide or do much. Simple majority rule for me, and no special treatment on voting for the issue of name alone.” She stretches out her legs. “Regarding anonymity, the Harpers are far from anonymous yet still thrive on secrecy. If we need to be concealed, we cover our markers and sigils, travel swiftly, and even use aliases, deception, and disguises. One would say a name that is raised through reputation could strike fear into the heart’s of enemies. On the issue of revoking the name, I again vote ‘nay’ for those reasons and Furnock’s.”

“As far as the people naming us, I have sworn holy oaths to protect this village and will see the matter through. But the manner I do this in is on my conscience. What need are names? In some lands adventuring bands are required under law to register their company. In magic arts, names have power and significance.” Pertinax bows briefly in concurrence. “Finally, for matters of honor and deed, history and stories are connected to names. They tell of what we have done.” Sulmia cocks her head, considering this.

Turtle takes a swig of water. “I will be the first volunteer to go into any room, and I shall be the very last one to go out. I do this not for bravado or glory, but to defend. To guard the rear. And this responsibility scares me, for I have recently had visions of fell darkness, and in some of these dreams I do not triumph.” A heavy sigh follows. “Florent is right to mention the hyrda-thing. Sooner or later, there will be a beast or a trap or a spell that brings one of us down. I see my own doom sure enough in giants, let alone in a demonness. Yet if I am to fall, I would fall dying to protect my friends, dying for a cause. Dying under a name…a group name…with which to be fully remembered.” She points to the mithril spikes. “And that identity is from our resolve: ‘Shielding’ because of protection and ‘Alliance’ because of this common cause. It is truly a good name- a HOLY name, in fact. I will keep it ‘til my end’s-end.” She leans back then arcs her head forward to spit a trail of liquid onto the fire, watching it hiss satisfactorily. “Besides, I am sure the Homleteers would much rather have a donation of coins or goods than the projected honor of trying to argue amongst themselves as to what we should be called. That process would be quite…chaotic.” She scowls at the thought of this.
“Moreover from the last meeting with the ‘village elders’ that were involved with Feldron’s case, they made it quite clear that we are our own group, and as a unique entity to this place, should make our own counsel about matters. Certainly naming ourselves only affects us, so therefore we are the ones who shall have to resolve it.” She squats.

The half-Elven scout is rigid in his response. “I know it tis not ‘my’ name… it just that either name does not really strike any sort of chord in my heart… perhaps it be better that we take a name the “people” have given us… as most party names have somehow been derived from their exploits and their renown… namin’ ourselves is just …well, I am not sure… it just does not seem right to me.” He crosses his arms and continues. “Further, by not havin a name, we do not draw any more attention to ourselves, if certain aspects of our enemy be searchin for us…”

Without missing a beat Turtle says dryly, “Maybe it’ll sound better in Elvish. You guys have been ‘practicing’ after all.” She resumes repairing her scorched chain shirt.

He turns quickly to her, his tone civil yet unwavering. “I am not bothered by your statements or any yer beliefs of a need for a name…” Treveylan shrugs simply, “I come from me own line and clan… and dis discussion does in no way vex me…”

“You’ve a need to lighten up. Least of the dangers we face is our ration being soured by your frowns,” a sardonic Sulmia chastises from the corner.

“Me fadder once said that a name given to oneself, is as arrogant as the king who thinks his people truly need him, and could not live without him.” At the mention of his father the scout becomes poignant. “I am just not sure we be needing to name ourselves… let nature takes its course, and let the name come to us…,” he counsels softly.

“You should have voiced your concerns before the vote. I fear it is too late. We are the Shielding Alliance.” Pertinax swipes his fine Elven steel through the air as if striking an invisible foe. “If our enemy wants to search for us, let them. We’ll be ready.”

Trevelayn grumbles in Elvish mixed with common about being ‘too busy, too distracted to have participated so far.’ A woodchip from the fire lands on his shoulder, and he brushes it off angrily. He catches himself before reacting, and the frown disappears as he changes tactics. “As we have thus far voted on many things… I think we should weigh the options of naming ourselves. While it seems that a name might give us a so-called “common” alignment, that which we already have, what true need is there for naming our party??” He allows the question to hang in the air before moving onto another point. “Anonymity would better provide us cover… should we need to go into a place of ill-repute or where we may not want to be so ‘out in the open.’ While a name, and a sigil, I am sure will be next, is most definitely easier to spot, and may draw unneeded, or unwanted scrutiny.” The scout makes a gesture towards the darkness, as if there already could be unseen foes gathering around the Shielding Alliance’s campfire. “Back in the ‘Shae, the clan that I hail from did not name ourselves. Granted, we have a family name,” and again at the reference to family, he practically winces.

“The name we were called was given to us by the people we protected…for as we were their servants and protectors, it was not our right to claim the right to name ourselves. The people, will, in time, provide us the name you so desire. Let our actions speak for ourselves… not a name that we do not ALL agree upon. For if we choose to name ourselves, should it not be a name that we ALL agree to? Not merely a name by whom votes toward one name or the other… an actual agreement between the whole of us?” Again, as if a practiced orator the half-Elf waits dramatically before forging ahead.

“Alone we would not fair well by ourselves, together we stand strong and true… and while we may struggle, not much can stop us thus far, as we have proven. Our strengths and weaknesses are covered, and we have shown true merit in our resolve to rid this world of the maligned arts that the temple is harboring. Let us not dwell on the alleged need for a name, for now… we have much more that is far more important.” Here he rises to his feet, his voice filling with emotion, his hands articulating emphasis.

“But is you think that a name is so desperately needed, at least consider each person’s view… and do not let their ideas, nor their protests go unheard.” He circles carefully clockwise around the low campfire as he says this, meeting everyone’s gaze individually. “We work as a team, and therefore the name should reflect something we all agree to. That is my opinion… but then, it may not count… yet again, ” he smiles slyly at Pertinax, evidently attempting insinuation before returning quietly to his seat on a log.

Florent takes a moment to lean on his shield and scratch his head. “Treveylan, you are as charming as ever, but you make no sense. Ow does letting populus name us give us more anonymity than naming ourselves? Clearly we already ‘ave made name for ourselves. ‘Omlette knows of our exploits, Tempel knows of our exploits, surely they call us something… “You no think they recognize us by now? I think shining shield and whistle more of identifier than sigil.” He turns the headlight on his tower shield towards Treveylan to emphasize his own point, to which the scout bites his lip. “And when we start making decisions based on consensus? I no remember this requirement for unanimous agreement. We ‘ave been going with vote of majority all along, no?”

The others indicate their agreement enthusiastically. “And while I appreciate your confidence about ‘not much can stop us’, but didn’t we just run from ‘Ydra?” Turtle holds up a still-smoking shield in testament. “I say we already voted, majority like Alliance de Shielding, that is our name. Eef name no fit, or town come up with better name, we vote again.” Turtle makes a frowning face at this un-agreed upon statement but remains silent. “Your resistance and your words sound nice, but logic… ‘ow you say… come up tall?” The young cleric touches the very top of his lengthy tower shield, sticking himself with a splinter. Embarrassed, he tries to pull it out and purses his lips.

The Elf reaches over and deftly plucks the splinter from Florent’s paw. “Treveylan, thank you for that eloquent statement. I will do my best to use my headband-aided intellect to sum up your points for a more coherent debate and ultimately voting.” He minutely adjusts the magical device. “On one hand you prefer we stay nameless because you feel a name is unnecessary and because it would protect us if we need to work incognito. Florent counters that we are already known and it is too late to go incognito. So a potential vote would be to revoke our name, Shielding Alliance, and go unnamed.”

“Then you want us to wait until the populace names us because you feel it is unwise or pretentious to name your own band. I think most bands are named by their own members. Regardless, if we are to go nameless again at what point would you have us adopt a name given by the populace? I am also sure you know that the populace could very well give us an unflattering or unseemly name if they so choose or they are swayed by people who aren’t benefited by our actions nearby. I don’t see a vote needed here though. We would just wait until nature takes it’s course and people start referring to our band in some fashion. They probably do already. Furnock, have you heard anything?”

Seeing the rogue distracted with counting the plantinum coins, Pertinax carries on “Third, you’d like to change our voting system from simple majority to unanimous votes, at least in reference to party names.” It is unclear whether he is being sarcastic or prosaic here. “As far as not allowing people to express themselves, we had an open discussion and your reply was curt and distancing so we went ahead with the vote.” The Elf’s tone is not negative so much as it is matter-of-fact. “It seems like the first vote needs to be on the issue of unanimity when it comes to naming the band. I vote that a simple majority is good enough.” He holds a thumb up in the air to indicate approval. “Once this vote is resolved we can tally the votes for the issue of keeping or rejecting our current name, Shielding Alliance. I vote to keep the name.” Again, the Elf raises a thumb for his vote.
“The issue of being named by the populace should only be addressed if we lose our current name. Does that make sense? What say the others on these topics?”

Later, around the safety and warmth of a campfire, the Elven Wizard returns to the earlier line of conversation about what to call their group. “I agree we need a name but I’m not sure I like the Shielded Alliance,” he begins. “Since three of our members do use shields, two very prominently, that could be a theme. Like the Company of the Mithril Shield, or the Order of the Gilded Shield, since our shields are actually very pleasant to the eye. That human armorsmith must have some Elven ancestry.” More groans from the humans of the band. “Of course, our shieldless brethren might protest.” Turtle mutters something about the silliness of not carrying a shield, to which his Elven sensibility chooses to ignore. “How about themes that all six of us have in common? Like our base of operations, Hommlet. The Hommlet Alliance or Hommlet Defenders? The Hommlet Six? The Knights of Hommlet?” His back arches even straighter than normal. “I am a bit partial to the Knights of Hommlet.”

Furnock glances around and speaks in Elvish. “Pertinax can you translate for me. My common accent is so heavy few can understand.” Unsurprised, the Elf does as asked in perfect common, turning the rogue’s thick accent into more comprehendable language. “We need to attempt a new plan for tackling this next level.” The Elf’s voice echoes after his decadently dressed companion’s. “I think that the “Hommelet…” names sound good. Among the not so good are the shielded alliance; not all of us are shielded. I’m not so fond of the Knights of Hommelet name for several reasons:
A) none of us are Knightly. Knights ride horses, we abandon them in the woods still attached to carts. Several chuckles go around at this rookie mistake the group had made early on. “Hopefully they won’t be coming back to collect a treasure share!” Turtle guffaws.
B) some of us are cowards, (and here here Furnock does not shy away from the admission) knights are not cowards
C) Knights are usually tied to liege lords, owe oaths of fealty nobles like the lords of Waterdeep or others.
D) Knights are Aristocrats, are any of us of noble birth? Aristocrats get touchy about people assuming airs when they are not nobles.

Turtle waits for the Pertinax-speaking-Furnock to finish this list before adding; “In some areas, a knight is a formal title, given in ceremony. It might incur anger at having presumed such a level, even if we meant it informally.” After noting the objections to the Knights term the elf nods in understanding. Furnock presses on with his halting Elven. “I really like the other “Hommelet names” suggested though. I would also put forth my own name,” (dramatic pause and then with a flourish of ruffled hands) the “Order of Hommelet:” it’s authoritative, strikes fear into the hearts of the villanous, without implying anything we are not.” He beams at his suggestion.

The Elf murmurs positively and continues in his own melodic voice. “Like Turtle, I would like our name to be meaningful in more ways than just identifying how many of us there are. The Order of Hommelet to me sounds proper.” Furnock’s chest practically swells with pride, so the party’s wizard continues on, as if giving an academic lecture. “There are many types of knights, and one of the most popular adventuring bands I know was called the Knights of Myth Drannor even though they did not totally fit into the picture of knights described by Furnock. Having said that I understand the objection,” the Elf thinks aloud. “The reason why I like Hommelet is because that’s where we trace our origins as a group or fellowship. I don’t think our name ties us down at all. It is just a nod to our birthplace as a band,” he explains, flicking a piece of debris off his collar.

A frustrated sigh emits from the female fighter as her leg kicks away a small stone. “As much as I’ve come to love my second home, I’d like to not be tied down to it, even in name. I’d like to wander the Realms a bit before I settle,” she whispers with a wistful shine in her eyes. “Perhaps there could also be the possibility that our association with the village, particularly if we named ourselves after it, could cause enemies to take retribution there. Finally there is the possibility that the village itself would not want a band of adventurers roaming around with their name,” she hefts the bag of platinum coins, “at least not without some manner of compensation.”

Furnock chimes in. “How about the Order of the Hand? Not attached to the town and we do help out the Helmites a lot.” Pertinax is quick to politely dismiss that idea, “As much as I appreciate the help of Helm through Florent I would rather not give the impression that this band is a personal prelature of the Helmites.” The gambler has moved on, distracted by the clink of valuable metal.

Letting the sack down (which Furnock’s eyes follow the whole time) Turtle announces, “I should also be more specific; I meant the SHIELDING Alliance. The shield part being ‘to protect’ and the ‘Alliance part meaning a group formed out of common interests,” she clarifies, poking a stick into the fire. “I have grown to feel a bond of kinship with all of you, despite our differences. I know this would not have happened if we had not joined together, if we had not…ALLIED for a common goal. My heart tells me that we are a Shielding Alliance. A group drawn together to protect those that need us.”

There is a growing sound of approval from various members, with the walking metal that is the party’s cleric the first to voice his agreement. “Shielding Alliance gets my vote. This reflects our protection against growing evil of Tempel as well as precepts of ‘Elm. For some reason, people in this area ‘ave trouble understanding moi.” Many of the figures around the flames chuckle at his being able to make the observation, yet his ignorance of his linguistic complexities. “Eef I call ourselves “Order of ‘Omlette” I fear they give me plate of eggs. I no understand this, why vous ne moi comprehende, but ‘and of ‘alf dozen fits in same category,” he confides confusedly.

“Shielding Alliance? That sounds a bit better. Not sure if we make up an order. What with rules, laws, by-laws. That sounds more like’n Turtle’s habits at needin’ that.“ The other woman gives an icy glare in the direction of Sulmia’s voice, muttering about ‘hayseeds.’ Perhaps in enjoyment, the ShadowDancer takes no notice of her. “An alliance sounds better…” The occupying silhouette bobs in agreement.

Florent, who still has an obvious affection for young adventurer, is quick to follow in her symbolic footsteps. “Alliance de Shielding. Je t’aime! I think this great name. Eet strick fear into ‘eart of all doers of evil, he proclaims smugly. “’Omlette will know they are under our protection, and the ‘and of ‘Elm watches over them. Are any of you good with drawing or carving? An emblem representing who we are would also be tres bon. I shall proclaim our valiant ‘eroics and name in the face of the next abomination of this Temple I face. They shall know the ‘ard ‘and of ‘Elm and the Alliance de Shielding!” He raises a mailed mist in a gesture of triumph at the thought of proclaiming this loudly.

Furnock bellows, much to the displeasure of his compatriots, “Does that make each member a Shield? Taht’d be swell! Anyway I’m just glad I get to change my name from Furnock, the alcoholic gambler who wanders evil temples and complains a lot, To; FURNOCK member of the Shielding Alliance! Where to next?”

“Then that’s that. We are the Shielding Alliance given that Treveylan abstained.” The Elf rises gracefully from his seat, ready to move onto his arcane studies now that the designation matter is finally settled.

One minor point an I do mean minor. Furnock is proud of his cowardice to a
certain extent. Being alive is his prime directive. Furnock never fails to
look out for Furnock.
*No problem. I’ve changed that passage (the ‘B’ part of Furnock not
agreeing with us being called knights) to:

“(here Furnock does not shy away from the admission)”

Don’t anyone hesitate to correct me if I’m getting the style/flavor of
your character down incorrectly. I had to assume a lot to make it
sound like a story.

aka, a compilation with some artistic license of the 'A-Conversation' in various emails

Florent looks around at his battered companions as something occurs to him:
“Mes Amis, Regarding the idea of resting ‘ere in this room instead of taking time to go back and find safer place, there is something else to consider. I ‘ave to wait till dawn tomorrow to pray to ‘Elm for more spells. This matter of resting for more than just 8 ‘ours, no? The longer we wait ‘ere, better the chance that ‘ydra get free and we get flambe. You know this word? Like the desert with the burning liquor on top? Anyway, it is no good.”

Pertinax smiles, an expression on his face as if he is remembering the taste. “I know this dessert. We elves have perfected the technique.” Many in the party groan quietly at yet another example of ethnocentrism. Distracted by memories or choosing to ignore, he presses on, “In any case, I do agree that it might be best to sleep outside.” His slender fingers reach instinctively to find the well-read spellbook he studies.

The female fighter nicknamed Turtle follows the movement out of the corner of her eye but continues guarding one of the doors leading into the pillow-filled chamber. “You all may find this odd, but it feels…good…to be back here. I am invigorated after that tenday and owe the armorer many thanks for her efforts.” She practices moving her improved defenses in sweeping arcs for emphasis. “Even though the temple will be tougher, the Shielded Alliance will be tougher still.” She peeks around with a smile of her own to gauge the reaction of this, before continuing quickly. “This was a righteous fight, although I admit to feeling a certain sorrow for the mage whom I abruptly crushed down.” A sad gaze looks into the other room. She sighs and goes returns to watching the door. ”’Battles which last but a minute leave scars which last across a lifetime.’ Parts of her still smoke from hydra-fire as if in answer. “Florent, would you say a benediction over the bodies before we leave? It might give them some peace.”

The Helmite priest looks back at the room with the three recently-slain bodies before responding to the benediction request, “I pray for fallen in morning when I commune with ‘Elm, no when ‘ydra is beating on door in next room. They choose there path when they chose to do work of evil. Eet is for their God to judge them now. You were right to charge in and beat them down before they could do more harm, Turtel. No let mercy stay your ‘and at critical time, or I be praying benediction for one of us next time.”

She bows her head in agreement or possibly a quick prayer and turns to the others. “Friends, I would have us press on enough to see if this section leads back to the beginning. We may yet hold have the element of surprise and could strike while the iron is still hot. I realize its been a tough series, but the going will only be tougher. I would suggest moving on to deal more unexpected blows and increase our learning of this level.” She pulls back her hair. “I think it’d be good practice for when we have to confront yonder demonness. I’m sure she won’t let us dictate the terms then.”

The elven wizard flexes his slender fingers as if preparing to cast one of his potent arcane energies. “Indeed, although it might do us good to be as ready for her as possible. We need to study demons and their weaknesses.”

Turtle shudders visibly at his adding an ‘s’ onto that horrible word, as if suggesting they may face more than the Temple’s evil ruler the druid from Hommlet had warned about. “Perhaps you can later speak of what you already know? It would be a conversation to help keep our watch alert,“ ‘…and I don’t want to be caught napping,’ she thinks to herself.

Pertinax reddens, as if embarrassed about something. “I have to confess that I need to learn more about the subject,” he admits slowly. “Having said that there is some knowledge I can impart.” (Dan: Knowledge:The Planes +6)”

Turtle listens to his brief report with a worried look. “I’d like to continue this discussion around a fire and where we’re not in the bowels of an enemy lair. Otherwise we may not live to share a name with anyone.” A quick turn of the each wrist readies both manticore-embossed shields. “Is everyone else feeling ok enough to head back in the direction of the entrance but with the resolve of going through new territory as we do so?”

Florent wheezing and leaning heavily on his own shield, a huge towering one, is the first to reply. ‘Ow sure are you that these new doors lead back to where we were before? I can no keep my head straight in this twisted Tempel. I think it better to follow trail of dead bad guys back to surface instead.” A grim smile comes to his feminine lips.

The Elf shrugs non-commitedly. ““I’d prefer to rest and regain our magical might but if we press on I’ll be far from useless.” He quickly unsheathes the longsword he refers to as ‘Fine Eleven Steel’ and re-sheathes the blade just as fast. “As you may have noticed, I have been studying the martial arts as well as the Art and have acquired a significant level of proficiency with a longbow, as is my birthright. I still have some spells, though none of the third order including elven alacrity. My fine elven bow works well and my quiver is near full.” He reaches back to grab the beautifully-crafted missile weapon.

Turtle, interrupts good-humoredly, “So Florent will have to now watch out for TWO sets of Elvish arrows?” she jests, grinning about an errant shot from the bloody battle just minutes ago.

Pertinax smiles back smugly. “You’ll know that the precise set of elven arrows came from my bow, though.” He raps his weapon lightly for emphasis.

The shadows carries the voice of a farmer’s daughter. “You all sound less n’ heroes an’ more the likes of Luskan merchants. Votes? I vote we think that a five headed beast is loose in these warrens and I need remind you our spellthrower’s best magic doesn’t hurt it. Let’s get topside and hope it doesn’t give chase with its handlers behind it until we’ve caught our breath.” Sulmia the ShadowDancer blurs into the corner, her own shadow moving separately from her body. The shadow had become a living thing, born from some eldritch sorcery. Turtle frowns in disapproval of this uncertain companion, gripping her shields tighter. It had already felt the spines once and would do so again if it was not careful.

Florent adjusts his own defenses as if sharing the feeling. “I am also concerned about us, how you say, pressing our luck? ‘Elm calls for action and vigilance. I ‘ave been too ambitious and charge ahead before, with no so good results. Balance of doing most good without being foolish. When does ‘just one more door’ become door ‘olding ‘ydra that kills us all? I say we pull back now to rest and re-group in safe camp outside. I have very little ‘ealing power of ‘Elm to call on. Eef we are wounded more seriously eet will take multiple days to recover, or a trip back to town. Better to return at full strength tomorrow with strategy than to make mistake that causes greater delay.” The boy priest’s usual headlong determination was gone, replaced with an obvious fear of the monster they had been able to escape. If Furnock hadn’t gotten the lever to bring down beast’s cage…

As if on cue, the gambler turned rogue pokes saunters in, a bag of coins jingling in one hand and a scroll tube in another. His cautious search of the former inhabitant’s room apparently successful. He nods to the others talk of leaving directly in his own tongue; ” ‘er we should be duck’n for it methinks. Then I’m always for show’n te bucktail dough, eh? Lets knuckle under and run fer it.Then put up an shack up someway safe as pearl in a clam. eh?” While the gist of what he wants is clear, it still takes the rest of the party a few seconds to acknowledge. For her part, Turtle stares dumbly at him, clearly not following a word.

To move things along, the elf unveils the document he’s crafted along their journey throughout this level. “I have a map which clearly illustrates where we have been. I prefer to go back to safety the way we came in but if we open a few of these doors, particularly the silent ones, I wouldn’t be opposed. Clearly, the consensus is to seek refuge somewhere else. Either the first floor or outside. I feel the first floor has served us well before.” The elf waits to hear from the others.

Comments welcome.

Nicely done! Very entertaining.

I can’t wait to see you give “the treatment” to the
revelation that we are amongst exiled royalty. Screw
the temple and Hommelet! Let’s go get Treveylan his
rightful kingdom! In exchange for lands and nobility
titles, of course.

actually, Brian had told me this awhile back, so I was wondering if
we’d ever hear about it. I’m curious as to how it’ll affect the
campaign.

As far as ‘the treatment,’ here is the next batch, which I’ve broken
down into 3 parts based on what made sense and the natural divisions
in the flow of the emails. I’ve finished with the first and thought
it made sense to send them out indivdually. There will also be a
revised ‘Rest for the Weary’ which includes a comment by Treveylan of
what to do next that I found late buried in the discussion of naming
emails, and plastic surgery for Floren’ts lips, which was a joke on my
part to see if people paid attention.

What will Pertinax name his lands? Pertinaxshire? Pertinaxia? Pertyland? State of High Elven Insufferability? Xenophobialand?
Otisville.

I like the editorial license you took with the description, except for the part about Florent having feminine lips. He shaves… once a month at least. Got to keep up with the peach fuzz.

Good work!

Man o man that was well done. If we choose to follow Treveylan. Furnock is
choosing an area he likes to call Catan. You are all welcome to build
settlements there and grow rich or until one of us gets 10 victory points.

aka bickering

Regarding the ‘bickering,’ the conversations, while certainly containing definite disagreement at times, were largely civil. Such a discussion was both realistic and necessary for a mainly Lawful band and I enjoyed the roleplaying.

1)We will allow party debt and speed at which said debt will be repaid

Florent gets to keep his ring of freedom of movement,> for example, which we can’t afford out of his share.> He owes the rest of the party for the item. He has to> repay his debt as soon as he can.

another vote was taken on whether there should be a limit on this
debt, and in true American governance style, there are no limits to
the debt.

2)We defined party items

More than one person can use them and the benefit can> be applied to everyone

it was also a factor that such a benefit was important to the group
and could not be better replicated by an existing or easily obtained
other item.

3)We established a system to allocate magical items> > when two or more individuals have legitimate claims(they will wax> > eloquently on why they should get the item and the rest of the party votes)

This manner was advocated by Turte over the random approach and by
Sulmia over the auction style.

Diplomacy only works on NPCs.

and even then, apparently not all that well. :P it will be
interesting to see if Sulmia is considered an NPC…

4) Turtle asked who would want to be brought back in the event of
their death. Both Sulmia and Furnock said ‘no.’ (although Furnock
might change his mind after the Carrion Crawler incident) we assumed
Trevalyn as a paragon of his race would want to continue breathing

5) Feldron’s armor was returned to him, with some members (notably
Sulmia and Pertinax) refusing shares from it. he is still to be kept
under watch until a suitable consequence can be administered. Turtle
paid 220ish gold for the upkeep of him and Chan and to improve
security at the temple. Florent got manacles to better secure future
prisoners, after a slight rebuking from Terjon.

6) the splinter-cell sneakiness was discussed, with the admonition
that lying to other party members is not cool. the group shot doen
Floren’ts idea to ‘take a walk’ over to the Temple and Turtle’s
suggestion to explore Knulb.

and as we speak we’re back in the Temple courtyard after running out
gagging from a yucky tower. i.e via After all of that we waited for our new equipment to get to town and returned to the temple, checking out
the escape tunnel first.

We fought four carrion crawlers and other than Furnock, who in a rare moment of bravery almost got himself killed, triumphed in a spectacular manner. I’m sure tha means we will get our assess kicked inthe temple.

No we aren’t heros, nor exceedingly rich, and Furnock’s bravery is well…
hmmm Furnock has his moments shall we say… sort of like Han Solo, He is
getting braver sorta… no advance recon… I turned in my knives and mail
ordered a rapier so I have to kick myself for the delay… It could have
been quite comical; Florant, Trevelyn, and Furnock trying their best to
slink about the Temple…

That he can actually spend, it’s about 6100 gp or so.
The total share is 8k something but we can’t spend
that much because of the debt.

How damaged is Treveylan???

Either untouched or slightly dented.

After thinking more about this I think Florent’s
decision to keep the ring is a very good one. That is
one awesome ring! He will never be grappled, will be
able to move underwater just as he moves above water,
no spell that hinders movement will ever do anything
to him and so on and so forth. It’s pretty damn nice
and at 50% cost quite the bargain.

From Dan, the GM:
Sulmia thought so, too. But it was obvious the spoiled child of The Protector would have sooner parted with his excuse for a root than the ring….

1)We will allow party debt and speed at which said debt will be repaid

BRIAN:
Meaning what exactly??
ROBERTO:
Florent gets to keep his ring of freedom of movement, for example, which we can’t afford out of his share. He owes the rest of the party for the item. He has to repay his debt as soon as he can.

2)We defined party items

BRIAN:
Defined them how??
ROBERTO:
More than one person can use them and the benefit can be applied to everyone in the party.

3)We established a system to allocate magical items when two or more individuals have legitimate claims(they will wax eloquently on why they should get the item and the rest of the party votes)

BRIAN:
Ooooh, so Treveylan might actually be able to “persuade the party to see his point, should he want something someone else does?? I guess a high diplomacy score totally helps out, huh?? ; )
ROBERTO:
Diplomacy only works on NPCs. You are on your own, my friend. It will be the words that you put in Treveylan’s mouth that will determine if he gets what he wants or not.

aka Turtle and Florent seek some spiritual guidance

{In broken Elvish} “There are things worth more than gold.” She gets up to go. {switching back to guttural monkey-speak} “If you don’t mind, I will take my leave of you. We should meet back up tomorrow morning. Let sleep freshen our minds.” She bows curtly and heads out.

{assuming no one runs out/says more crap}

Turtle makes tracks to the Temple of Helm, where she asks to be let in. “I wish to stay inside the Watcher’s domain tonight so I may help keep vigilant eyes on the charges.” {assuming she is let in} “Please tell Terjon I wish to speak with him in the morning. If my companion Florent is also around please let him know that I am here.”

She goes to check in on Feldron and who is guarding him. If he truly really seems to be asleep, (talking quietly with both his guards and a LISTEN check at the door) she will move on to look in on Chan, before sitting outside in the hallway, offering to take over the next 2 watches from those who are out. She does but request to be checked upon every hour.

The next morning when Florent next sees Turtle alone he asks: “Pardon moi, sister de shields, but I ‘eard you respond to Furnock and Treveylan and it sounded like you were speaking their language. Did you know what they were talking about, because the ‘we’re just practicing our Elvish’ line is as bad as some of my pick up lines.” Florent blushes at this analogy, and quickly presses on. “What’s ‘appening?”

I think Florent was up praying at the Temple right from the get-go when we got back. This helped Roberto not have to do any more split personality. SOOOO… I don’t know if he was around when ‘SPLINTER CELL SNEAKINESS’ happened.

If Florent does walk around during the night or is otherwise awake, he may either see/hear Turtle directly or be told by an acolyte that she has come up to the Temple to help keep watch, and wanted him to know. This same acolyte may also be aware that she requested a meeting with Turgeon in the morning.

We’re running out of time until next session, so in the interests of moving the story along…

If Florent does walk around during the night or is otherwise awake, he may either see/hear Turtle directly or be told by an acolyte that she has come up to the Temple to help keep watch, and wanted him to know. This same acolyte may also be aware that she requested a meeting with Turgeon in the morning.*

Asssuming nothing crazy happens at night, if she comes upon Florent she says to him: “I need to meet briefly with you and Tourjohn about a moral issue that you raised during the last mission that has been troubling me. I’ve requested his council early in the ‘morrow, so that we may resolve it quickly, move on, and then get the most out of the day. Will you join us?” {this is sort of a rhetorical question, but in any event, she steadfastly resists any attempts to explain beforehand what her concern is, only that it is related to the ‘spiritual well being of the party’}

If Florent sleeps soundly through the night, I’m guessing that he would be summoned after morning prayer/breakfast. Turtle has a troubled look on her face as she slowly begins:

“Thank you both for agreeing to meet with me. While not a direct follower of the Watcher myself, I am a believer in His missions and support most of his aims. Surely his temple here is no accident in line of the great evil re-awakening not far from us. I have also grown fond of Florent, and as a shield brother, he has repeatedly stood fast beside me in the face of grim peril. He is undoubtedly a fervent servant of the Vigilant One, and I respect his cause. However…”

Here she pauses to collect her thoughts.

“On our last sally into the darkness, there came to be a split amonst us as to how best handle our prisoner. The differences put myself and Florent were almost on opposite sides- my wanting to treat him honorably and with mercy, while Florent..{she initially has trouble meeting his gaze, but breathes, and seems to gain some inner strength to find his eyes}...Florent at one point advocated torture.”

She swallows here. “I think that he was still filled with the heat from battle and would not have done such a dark deed- nor would I have let him. Nonetheless, in our holy quest it is important that we not only guard our companion’s physical bodies, but guard our companion’s mortal souls as well. So I have come to Helm’s authority to request judgement in this matter, after Florent has had a chance to explain himself. I ask this in hopes that he and I may come out properly attoned, spirtually stronger and more united in cause.”

Her gaze stays steady, her eyes remain true.

Florent responds with his eyes brightened by a unwavering faith and belief. “I am glad to ‘ear of your interest in ‘Elm, Turtel. I think ‘is power is growing in you.”

(Turtle starts to move her head side to side, but stops)

“But misunderstand me, no? When we were in Tempel and captured this assasin, we try to tie ‘im up, but he escape with ease, no?”

She nods in agreement. “He was certainly skilled. We expected that, as we ourselves would have tried to escape under similar circumstances. Of course, you’re neglecting to mention that after slipping off his bonds, he remained seated on the bed until we awoke. Nor did he try to leave again or otherwise slow or mislead us.” She smiles in this scolding.

“I suggest we break ‘is legs no as a means of torture, but as a means of detainment. This ‘urt ‘im, yes, but we ‘ave no other way of knowing he no able to escape and go back to serving Tempel of Evil. I plan on saving a ‘ealing spell for ‘im, so ‘is injuries only temporary and no permanent.”

She shakes her head determinedly. “Evil done for good is still evil.” She crosses her arms suredly. “This is not something I can negotiate on and coming to point, is why we are here.”

“Alternative is to take ‘im back ‘ere and waste so much time while evil grows, which I no think is will of Ever Vigilant ‘Elm. A few hours of pain is justice, I say, for the good lives assasin ended.”

Again, a shake of the head. “Feldron is an honorable man. An evil man, but one who follows a code. Justice is not vengeance. Justice is fairness.

“Before we leave for Tempel again we need buy good set of manicles to lock prisoners in, then we no need for such extreme measures.”

She laughs. “I was actually going to stop by the blacksmith for some. I am glad there is an easy solution for the future.”

“But I stand by efficacy of breaking legs of evil man, no as a way of torture, but as a way of protection and security. ‘E pass out from pain, and when ‘e wake ‘e already ‘ave legs back. I still think this would ‘ave been better than this ten day side trip while letting evil grow stronger.”

Zeal burns in the eyes of the young man. Good and Evil are clearly black and white to him, so difficult choices are easy to make for him. Next he will start talking about the “axis of evil” and draw up plans to go to war with Iran and North Korea… wait, wrong zealot.

She sighs resignedly. “Of all these things, we will have to agree to disagree. Which is why we are here having this conversation.” (she shows a solitary index finger) “One, I will never do evil in the name of good, for protection or security, in Helm’s name or otherwise.” (putting the next finger) “Two, magic may fix the physical damage to him but there would be the memory for him and a scar on your soul.” (another finger) “And three, the evil may grow strong while we’re gone, so we will have to grow stronger on the meanwhile.” (turning to Terjon) “We need some guidance. This issue may seem trivial to some in our group, but to me it is a growing schisim.”

No consensus on trying to get a consensus as to the loot we have from adventuring. A brief discussion about how we break down party treasure. Confusion from everyone except Furnock as to why le cleric would love so much debt. Furnock knows debt is good especially when they owe YOU money. Money can be exchanged for goods and services and Furnock likes being serviced.

Party returns to Hommelet. We take Feldron the unrepentant to temple of Helm. Callmur is distressed to have a deadly assasin in his Temple but puts the POW up anyway and takes Feldron’s gear to check for scrying enchantments. All this while Turtle is adamant about upholding the Waterdeep Fair Treatment of Evil Prisoners Convention of 937.

Next the party heads to Jeroo Ashstaff who does know Feldron was one of the mercenaries who helped attack the Temple 60 years ago. The Mercenaries acted as a distraction during the battle and most died. Next the party splits up with Trevelyn, Furnock, and Pertinax going to the Inn. Sulmia goes to visit her father and Turtle going and buying new shields from the new weapon smith. Florent stays at the Helmite Temple.

Around supper time the party dines with Sulmea and her father. The next morning Pertinax gets super elven pissed when he finds out that Turtle’s new shields will take a ten day to complete, because the rest of us had counted
on heading right back out to the ToEE. Furnock is secretly pleased because know he can cheat people out of their money at the Inn and drink alot. The party returns to the Helmite Temple to meet with the Hommelet civic leaders board and decide the fate of Feldron. Florent says the assasasin must die. Turtle says no. Everyone else is iffy until Sulmia convinces them to be merciful. The group decides to exile Feldron but make him do community sevice before he is given the boot. We level up except Furnock with roleplaying experience.

Regarding the ring, Florent exclaims: “Le ring save my life. Being inside monster of goo is bad enough. No being able to move is tres worse. I can no imagine giving away ring for something you say me is better. Eef someone else want ring, then we figure eet out. But eef only me want ring or we sell eet, I keep ring. You keep my gold.”

OOG: Florent is going with the bird in hand that saved his life is better than bunch of stuff he’s never seen before but others say is cool, in bush. (Insert joke here). Not tactically the best move, but this is Florent we’re talking about.

Regarding the prisoner: “What is this community service merde? Who ever ‘eard of such ridiculous thing. Next you say ‘Omlette need a service director and we ‘ire someone for this stupeed job. Unless my superiors correct me, assasin for ‘ire is bad. I say we definitely no give ‘im back ‘is stuff, no matter what pledge ‘e make.

Regarding the ten day wait: “Mon Dieu! Merde! Why we no send them some gold why we are at eet? Maybe some extra oil for burning us, and potions for ‘ealing. I know we should have broke ‘is legs and pressed on. Now eet ees my legs that get broken. Couf toi femmes et grand sen… mumbles rant in broken Florentese” I am with the irate elf on this one, for sure. Roberto, throw some good made up French curses in there for me.

Furnock glances around at the rest of the unnamed party of adventurers as the walk back towards Hommelet. He adjusts the mostly tattered remains of his frilly cuffs, clears his throat, and begins speaking. There is a quaver to his voice at first but he gains strength and volume as he talks to no one in particular…

Nexty ‘o me mind is the busy ‘o cred’t ‘o tabs ‘o some such as. A boyo in deb’ can be count’n on in a pinch I always say. ‘cause it says in the scriptures ‘a in deb’t man be a proomis’d to his ‘older ‘o funds’ so its said. so we’un can count on debtors as it says in the scriptures it does.
how much can someone claim ‘on credit?’

“Furnock, mon ami, je ne compris toi. What is this umper of leg you speak of? I stand as ‘and of ‘Elm, no the leg. Mean you “un pere” of ‘Elm, as they say where I from, that ‘Elm is my father? Que’se que ce?”

OOG: I am with Steve on this one. Between the French slang I am blundering through with Helm’s horny little dog servant, and whatever accent Furnock has, I think the confusion only adds to the roleplaying possibilities. You can always ask for clarification, try to guess what he means, or in the case of Florent, take it as a license to translate his words into whatever meaning you want.

Furnock: “Feldron I ood ‘e be me tought. The feller donna be wear’n no goggles. Nor would ye ev’r peep ‘pon Furnock from the fron’. He bucks off too much methinks.”

“No consensus on trying to get a consensus as to the loot we have from
adventuring. A brief discussion about how we break down party treasure.”
i.e ‘paying’ for an item’s 1/2 value out of your gp share and the possibility of having to bid on something should 2 or more party members both want it. Roberto pointed out that this has so far never happened, so we’ve secretly made the evil decision to bid on all his scrolls. oh crap, I shouldn’t have said we made a decision! oh CRAP, I shouldn’t have said it was secret. OH CRAP, I certainly shouldn’t have said it was evil!!! {sighs} Its too cold today.

“Confusion from everyone except Furnock as to why le cleric would love so much debt. Furnock knows debt is good especially when they owe YOU money.Money can be exchanged for goods and services and Furnock likes being serviced.”
and 60,000ish gp can buy a lot of peanuts.

“Party returns to Hommelet.”
Turtle asked to get some ooze samples (we have a shot glass worth) and some troll ash for the alchemist. don’t laugh.

“We take Feldron the unrepentant to temple of Helm. Callmur is distressed to have a deadly assasin in his Temple but puts
the POW up anyway and takes Feldron’s gear to check for scrying
enchantments.”
which there were none. Furnock was incredibly relieved to learn that the gold box and urn are just the usual gold box and urn. Chan was ALMOST redeemed until the very last day, when apparently someone forgot to feed him. that’s Helm Hospitality for ya.

“All this while Turtle is adamant about upholding the Waterdeep
Fair Treatment of Evil Prisoners Convention of 937.”
Turtle actually makes reference to having to deal with a ‘blacksheep’ in her family.

{insert trip to the Tower}
Party meets with Rufus the white-collared fighter. beleagured by paperwork, he has not yet tested the super weapon but will put in a good word for us about getting magic items identified. seems unflustered at the prospect of us facing giants.

“Next the party heads to Jeroo Ashstaff who does know Feldron was one of the mercenaries who helped attack the Temple 60 years ago. The Mercenaries acted as a distraction during the battle and most died.”
*you left out the part about Turtle’s query getting JaRule to reveal on the down low that the evil forces being led by a slime demonness. the druid (who had been doing a mistletoe ceremony under the watchful eyes of the only straight bear in Faerun), explained how the attack on the Temple had come from several contingents and directions, involving thousands and thousands, including more elves than are usually seen.

Jeroo uses tea leaves to ‘look in on’ the Helm temple in accord with the Village Security Directives. he recognizes Feldron as a mercenary who was part of the ‘distraction’ force. this proves that Feldron’s claim of not only one time fighting for the forces of good, but also fighting against the Temple are true. (i.e he’s old, but maybe not as old as an Elf) it somewhat validates his feelings of betrayal.

Pertinax admits to disenchanting one of the wards on the doors. Jeroo says that he does not know how to put it back, but Turtle presses him to check, perhaps at the possibility that the information was written down somewhere or one of the surviving members knowing. We were reminded that the spy in Knolb (the old crone) was one such leader.

Jeroo was also unhappy about the clanging coming from the armorer- a triphammer which helps speed up production and also the non-Native American concept of land ownership- seems our mysterious patron has bought up some land.

Turtle wonders about donating coin to preserve Jaroo’s lands officially as well as seeking to quiet the noise from the armorer that she had encouraged to come. Pertinax makes a comment about Turtle “always trying to please everyone’ and thta this will one day ‘cause her to go to the dark side.” Turtle tells him she feels insulted.

{insert trip to alchemist’s} Alchemist has identified blood from previous trip as lion’s blood and has made a concoction that gives the drinker both the speed and vision of a lion, but also hair growth. he suggests whomever consumes not be in armor.

he will have tanglefoot bags ready, as well as some flash pellets. was interested in the shotful of goo.

“Next the party splits up with Trevelyn, Furnock, and Pertinax going to the Inn. Sulmia goes to visit her father and Turtle going and buying new shields from the new weapon smith. Florent stays at the Helmite Temple.”
flagellating himself. actually, for Roberto’s sake I believe we dumped him off there right away. Also, the boys took off to go drinking despite Turtle’s wanting to have everyone stick together. like waffles.

“Around supper time the party dines with Sulmea and her father.”
who still doesn’t know anything more about our secret patron. he makes a “she’s just like her mother” comment about Sulmea’s shadowdancing” and Turtle asks him about giants, bringing up his dead wife, ending the evening.

“The next morning Pertinax gets super elven pissed when he finds out that Turtle’s new shields will take a ten day to complete, because the rest of us had counted on heading right back out to the ToEE.”
You’d have thought she went into South America. :P Turtle had become swept up in Edna Mole’s dramatic style review, and, with no one there to keep her sensible, gave in to new fashion. (If you let the woman go shopping by herself, you shouldn’t complain when you get a bill.)

“Furnock is secretly pleased because know he can cheat people out of their money at the Inn and drink alot”
Trevalyn is secretly pleased because now maybe he can find some jaywalker or litterbug and cut off their thumbs.

“The party returns to the Helmite Temple to meet with the Hommelet civic leaders board and decide the fate of Feldron.”
party suggests our votes be tallied and then the majority vote becomes equal to one. the ‘Big Five’ later reveal that our vote decides it.

“Florent says the assasasin must die. Turtle says no. Everyone else is iffy until Sulmia convinces them to be merciful.”
actually, she made the tactical point that keeping him here might cause the Nightmasks to come here, and killing him would cause the Nightmasks to come for revenge. Trevalyn walks out, not because his vote was ‘meaningless’ as Pertinax put it, but because he wanted “not part in judging the fate of this man, or he himself judge.” nevertheless, he continued to yell things from behind the door.

“The group decides to exile Feldron but make him do community
sevice before he is given the boot.”
but its the big Australian version. also, he has to swear an oath and apologize. this is only if he wants his stuff.

“We level up except Furnock with roleplaying experience. What did I miss, anybody?”
a bunch of jokes, some non-gay cookie hearts for Dan, and Furnock’s tittering laughter. all in all, another great session.**

*actually, we sent off most of what we found to be appraised, although there seemed to be a sub-committee on this with ‘starring’ certain things. OOG, Brian gave Dan the list and he will email us what stuff is worth and I assume its everything we found.

we also forgot to include mention of the artifact at the Helm temple that silenced the room that Feldron was in.

Pertinax mentioned the slime demonness during Feldron’s ‘trial’ and it was unclear if this was a matter for public knowledge or if Jeroo had wanted us to keep it a secret.

The Elf was Florentian in his determination to go back immediately, because “they will get stronger.” His response to not being prepared to deal with giants was that the group still had much of the current level to ‘clear out’ and would not face giants for awhile. Turtle was concerned that the giants would come up from their level, Pertinax said the corridors were too small, and DM reminded everyone that the corridors were ‘just right’- big enough for an ettin to get through.

The debate shifted as to when the party would finally ‘boost up’ if not now; Pertinax’s position was that they had been near full strength in the Temple, and that the trip back here was to only drop off the prisoner. Turtle’s view was it was time for much-needed upgrades. Pertinax said they would do that later, at a better ‘stopping point.’ This seemed to include going all the way up to the demonness if need be- “And we know that the best way to honor their sacrifice is to complete the mission, so we will stay until the fight is won.”

Turtle burts out laughing in game at the idea of fighting a demoness.

Yet she knew she had made a party-affected decision on her own, partly to cheek off the presumptive elf, so she had first offered to meet up with the group later, and then, to leave without her newly-improved shields. But then Selmia used a farm reference (“My daddy always said, when you get an egg with 2 yolks, you just eat them”) to point out how we are where we are, why not take advantage of the time and load up on food and supplies to really go for bear at the Temple.

This seemed to be accepted by everyone, although Vicy France will no doubt throw in their 2 Nazi-embossed francs.

1) what makes an item count towards ‘party treasure?’
2) how much can someone claim ‘on credit?’
3) who carries what

Here is my take on the proposed three big issues that need definintion…

Luke’s answer to 1: when no one claims it for their use it gets added to the total loot pot brought in by the party

Luke’s answer to 2: this one is tough, Furnock has alot of “on credit” items, so I can understand frustration about him being a coward in tough fights but thats him, personally I say we should be loading up Turtle the tank with a flaming shield of evil killing or some such. She seems to always be in the thick of it. Does Turtle have any magic armor, weapons, or items besides the glowing rusty whistle? No more magic items for Furnock!
Just let him/me buy a rapier under his own power. I mean his cut. I’m almost done paying off Pertinax for the cloak. So that just leaves the goggles that I owe gp to the party.

Luke’s answer to 3: Lord O’ the Bags. How many bags of holding does Trevelyn have? How much needs to be carried?

What does everybody else thing?

Answer to Luke’s Question about 3:

I don’t have any Bags of Holding…. ; )

He has a Heward’s Handy Haversack (has 3 compartments, 2 smaller hold up to 20lbs. each, and largest holds up to 80lbs. of gear, but always only weighs 5lbs. at any given time and only costs 2,500gp).

He also has a Quiver of Ehlonna (has 3 compartments, Largest holds up to 6 items similar in shape to a bow, Medium holds up to 18 items similar in shape to a javelin, and Smallest holds up to 60 items similar in shape to an arrow, and only weighs 2lbs. at any given time and only costs 1,800gp)

The more Haversack’s a party has the more that can be lugged around…. but that is just my opinion. They are a great benefit, but not nearly as much as Bags of Holding, but those also weigh a whole lot more…. unfortunately.

He stops short of stroking it and calling it Precious, but he’s grown attached.

I haven’t heard a total of how much the free action ring is worth, and it may be a crappy strategic decision, but Florent is a crappy strategic decision maker.

I also think the ring of storing should be counted as a party item as long as we keep storing group spells like “Prayer”, which helps everyone.

After that, Florent doesn’t really care. He’ll keep tithing when he finally gets back into the black with his debt, but ‘Elm provides.

He’s against a trip to the big city to cash in for better stuff. (And not just because he won’t benefit from all the debt he’s in). Too long for the temple to prepare. Commerce in Homlette is picking up, and is suiting us just fine.

Turtle pauses in her attempts to pack and turns to her stylish companion. “What say you about all this Front Brother?” Her face conveys a mixture of seriousness and interest.

OOC: Turtle has been hoping for additional support among the party, so she is curious as to what the point man thinks. If you’d like to have Florent say something in game, this can be an opening to do so.

Does Florent still get point man props when he is the rear guard of team Beta?

“I will serve ‘Elm by seeing this man to justice. Back to ‘Omlette we go, and I keep close eye on ‘im. Turtel, I admire your faith in the ‘uman condition, and the possibility that this one can be redeemed. I support you in this, even though I think he is a killing putant. But I will no agree with returning ‘is armor to ‘im/ Again, I no think we make it that far anyway.”

“I ‘ave already judged you. Try to escape again and I kill you and save us trip.”

Turtle frowns openly, clearly disapproving of the Helmite’s tone. She moves to hand the prisoner food and water. “Please, eat a little something now. The journey back will take awhile.”

(insert Trevalyn {probably} talking to Florent)

“Filldrune, do you have another change of clothes I can get you?”
(looking around)
“I apologize for the state of affairs we’ve left you in. Hopefully things will become better. Until then, I swear to look after your armor as I look after my own.” She begins packing up.

Pertinax is clearly conflicted. On one hand Turtle’s kindness to the prisoner, in contrast to the Helmite’s harsh words and demeanor, is more appealing to the elf’s sensibilities. People should be treated in a civilized manner. On the other hand this man is a likely assassin and agent of evil. These humans
probably look at this fine elf as something of a moral compass. Oh, to be that plastic and absolute! The folly of ephemeral youth.

“My friends, during my long years of consciousness I have noticed that people make mistakes and sometimes find themselves down the wrong path. As such, I’d rather err on the side of compassion when dealing with our prisoner. While I won’t go out of my way to make his experience pleasant, he does deserve to be treated as a sentient being while the authorities decide his fate. Guilt by association is a tricky concept. Are we responsible for what our friends do? Say Furnock in the future, while in one of his alcohol-fueled
escapades, kills someone. Would we all be guilty because we count him as an associate, and dare I say, friend? I have taught things to some of you. Am I
responsible if you use those skills for evil?”

As the debate about what to do with the prisoner continues, Florent tunes out and thinks to himself:

Que’se ce se? What is ‘appening? Mighty ‘Elm, you are called ‘The Vigilant One’. You instruct to always be ready to protect, to anticipate attacks. This morning I ‘ave been engulfed by slimy cube and body slammed by ugly minotaur, and it is no even time for midday meal yet. Que’se ce se??? Is this a test? If so I am failing ‘orribly. At times I ‘ave felt your divine might flow through me, healing mes amis and turning undead minions. But what kind of champion of ‘Elm gets surprised and ‘is ass kicked twice shortly after waking for the day Am I merely fooling myself that I can be priest of ‘Elm? There is only so many near death experiences that one can ‘ave before wondering if I need to change my direction before luck runs out. Or is this a test of faith? Do you want to test my inner strength? Do you want to see what I will do in the face of such adversity? I think it is better we return to ‘Omlette. I am so confused. Per’aps Kalmer or Terjon can ‘elp me see the ‘and of ‘Elm at work in this.

One this I know for certain, I no like being burned alive by acid, or being ‘eld above the snarling maw of a crazed minotaur. I must do something about this…

“OK, I say we take ‘im where ‘e can be properly judged. Try again with rope, Fernock. Maybe try two ropes this time. But know this, Feldron. To me and to ‘Elm, anyone who associates with place of such malice and evil and partners with such people declares themselves as no good. I ‘ave already judged you. Try to escape again and I kill you and save us trip.”

[Florent has no ranks in the Intimidate skill, and a whopping +1 Charisma bonus]

OOG: I have to say that playing a character that repeatedly gets his ass kicked in such spectacular ways is highly entertaining

Quietly listening to the bickering and bantering of the party and their captive/enemy… Treveylan holds his remarks to himself not wanting to repsond in the anger that overwhelmed him earlier.

Hearing the concerns of the zealous youth and wanting to quell the young mans actions, he steps toward the boy, I would like a word with you, lad, motioning the young man out ofearshot of the others.

“You and I hold the same beliefs… If only for this instance and there is no way he will obtain his armor again. He serves an evil purpose and therefore should not be afforded any leniency in my opinion. His death will be lamented by some, but I do noy any more so than any of our own. He has freely admitted that he has killed his enemies, or anothers enemies… I assume through for pay, he.breathes deeply and sighes.

You and I hold an ideal that may be out of our compatriots ideals and therefore we may alone in our intention. He deserves no acceptance from us and should punished as much as he attempted to us.”

Shhhh, be wary quiet. I’m hunting turtles…
Florent whispers secretively back to Treveylan: “Oui, I agree. And what is with that crazy bitch Turtel? She seems quite taken with this man and his armor. I thought she only liked dragging the dead bodies around. I’m not sure we can trust her any more. She’s probably somehow scrying on our secret conversation right now. I say we kill her too, if she makes a move. We should probably do the gambler too, because the elf predicted he’s going to kill someone on a drunken binge sooner or later. Of course the rest of them will be witnesses, so lawfully we can’t let them live either. By then we’ll be bad ass mo fo’s, (read epic level) so I say we kill Burne and Rufus and take over Homlette. Then its only natural to go after the DM, who thinks he’s a god, and Helm doesn’t like the competition. Our plan is perfect. But don’t tell anyone, this is just between you and me.

OOG: How long has it been since we rested? Unless time passed differently while Florent was in the ‘cube’, he thinks it will be a while before he can pray for spells again, which makes resting rather futile at this point.

“D’accord, OK, I know you ‘ad my best intentions in mind, eef no in practice. Still, no one answered my question, “What the ‘ell ‘appenned?”” Florent looks at his companions for wisdom. “I follow Turtel into ‘allway, and see debris ‘anging in mid air, but the air not look right. It rushes towards me, I react by swinging my ‘trusty’ flail, and then I am inside abomination with skin on fire. Does anyone know what was that thing? I thought I hurt it with my first blow, but hard to tell from inside creature. I do know that I love this new ring. I feel it save me somehow from going stiff like Sulmia. I keep eet even eef I no get share of treasure for a month, je pense.”

“If we squaresome of that discussion away now we can do more fighting Sunday.”
definitely. square like ‘gelatinous cube’ square?

OOG: well we could try and decide what are gonna do, I know I have a longsword +1 what needs to go…”
well, Trevalyn had said he fights with a longsword. and since Furnock owes $ on the goggles and, I believe,some coin for the elven boots (or elven cloak, one of the 2) he could use that towards his debts.

or he could just hold onto it, pulling the sword out every so often to irritate the half-elf. :P *

“I need a rapier.”
our walking weapons store doesn’t have one?

“Anyway are we resting?”
not yet probably. every time we do, the damn monsters run around and change things on us.

“Are wecontinuing?”
Turtle had discovered that one of the other rooms had, much to her chagrin, a smashed chest. it would be sensible to at least check both it and where the cube came from before retiring.

“Are we pressing farther into the bowels of evil?”
without a doubt. at least until we find prisoners. then we get to go home! :)*

Furnock looks winded after dragging Sulmia for quite some time. Still red faced he starts cleaning some of the goo from Sulmia with just a little bit too much attention. He holds a frilly sleave to his nose and says to no one in particular “when the half elf thinks for himself why is it that we always
end up bleeding profusely… well… actually I mean those of you who feel all heroic and all. A little stronger sense of self preservation is necessary sometimes.”
“Oh well… next time no charging in to rooms without assessing the situation. No gnome dying this time.”

OOG: Dan that Jello beast was awesome!

[Pertinax]

Wiping the bit of ooze that accidentally splashed on
his left boot Pertinax looks quizzically at the frilly
human in the blood-stained frilly shirt.

“I am not sure I follow your reasoning there. What did Treveylan do? It seems to me that we were merely making sure that nothing creeped up behind us while going down the secret tunnel. A sound decision, to be sure.”

Turning quickly to hear the rogue speak lowly of his
character again, And what would YOU have had me do master thief? Leave our flank unprotected? Hardly a wise action, especially in this place. I moved forward as the party had requested. Why is it you find no blame in ANY of your actions, but never hesitate to point a finger at me? What have I done to you that merits your disdain of me?

You are allegedly a master at traps and locks…yet you are hesitant to assist in most cases; unless it serves that you gain more wealth.

Further, you are adept at sneaking behind people and yet you are unlikey to use that to your advantage… which would benefit us all.

It is sad that you are quick to blame me for EVERYTHING that seems to go wrong… Why is it you share no blame for anything, or point your finger to me? I grow tired of you hiding behind your accusations… Be a man and say what you mean directly! Do not guise your thoughts or feelings.. be
honest… or is that not a part of your vocabulary?

Furnock looks over at the half elf with disdain ” winky gov, I’ll know a spotty bit o’ noggin’ work when I see it. Charge flags unfurled into a chap’l of evil wit noot a wink o’ tought behind it. We should have skeedaddled back up the hall an’ left the wicked folk come through the eye o’ the needle, ye blasted brain adled woods walker. There was no gnomey chap in need o’ sav’n this time. As to your character I made no reverence to it. On’y y’er tink’n. Now boyo ye havesomething to hurl about me job? You want me to look about every ten inch to make sure you donna stub your toe? Have ye yet sprung a trap on me watch? Or left any door un-opened?” As to the Helm-lover almost becoming a perminant addition to that goo beast.
I saw lil’ o’ that, but the laddy-buck does seem upset fur some reason now don’ he? I’ll look to ye te figger it out.”
Now Furnock looks over at Sulmia “sorry about the bum run lassy, I an’t much fer lift’n wieght.”

(He blushes an begins shuffling cards)

OOC:Hilarious accent for Furnock, Luke!

[Pertinax]

“Well, in spite of his eloquence, or lack thereof, our
human companion in the bloody frilly shirt does have a point. I erred thinking that he was referring to the fight with the cubed blob. He was speaking about the previous fight, the day before. Why did he wait until now to speak is anyone’s guess, but his point is well worth discussing. The fight turned out well, and there are those that think that all’s well that ends well. Nevertheless, I do agree with Furnock in that perhaps it would have been a far more advatageous strategy to form the shield wall in the corridor, minimizing our exposure to their crossbows and to
flanking from those large brutes.”

“Still, in the heat of battle it can be difficult to
adjust. It is just something to keep in mind for the future.”

“I know why HE is upset with me!!!,” pointing directly at Florent, “But you seem to have a loose lip when speaking ill of me!!!”

Trying vainly to keep his composure, his face is contorted with frustration, “I more oft than not I hear you make a quip about me, or about my actions. Not ONCE have I heard you slander another in this group. If you have problems with my thinking and actions, I can surely say that I have
problems with your resolve. You seem to be one who would rather run at every chance rather than stand up and fight. Nine out of ten, you are right beside me when we are searching the hallway, and when there is danger, you run like a scared animal!! Do NOT speak to me of rash behavior and strategy, for yours seems to involve only yerself and none other.”

His rage slowly reducing, “I realize that no trap has been sprung on while you worked, nor any door left unopened. Again this speaks well of your gifts, but as I am always near you and watching closely what you do, I too am learning how to do what you do. My strongest concern is your reaction to flee. You have the same skill as any of us to fight. Yet you run when you should stand and fight, taking advantage of our enemies weaknesses while they are engaging any one of us in battle.”

If you were not referring to the battle with the blob, I can only assume you mean yesterday. I had not had the time to really think through my actions, I was nearly caught unawares, and sought only get away from the open space. Sometimes that may be nearer to your enemies, and sometimes it is not. My emotion led me to take the battle to them, I did not feel the need to run from them. If we backed up, their priest may have used spells that could have effected us all. My judgment was not sound, but in retrospect it did turn out well. I admit, I am not one to “run-hide”, but
would rather stand and face my enemy, even if that means I may die in my attempt. Tis a great thing and glorious end, to leave this plane on the battlefield.”

A deep breath escapes him, his anger finally quelled, “If you have an idea regarding tactics, speak freely. I am more than willing to listen to whatever you may have to say in that respect, Furnock. But you and I seem to have directly opposing instincts, as it pertains to battle, so we will
need to find a middle ground that may work. All the strategies in the world can be undone by the simplest of errors, mind you. But a plan is always a good thing to have.” He stands back waiting, listening to what Furnock
might have to say, or what anyone else may be thinking.

Still shuffling cards, Furnock languidly replies
“settle your wee elfy bottom half human, I’m no hero, nev’r claimed it, nev’r wanted it, nev’r was it. If I skeedaddle me chances of survival jump up like a horny hare. An sometimes bein will’n to jump ‘n run like a squirrel leads the bad ‘uns into ground o’ me choosin’. Now were’n you lot to let me ‘n somebody sneaky and also will’n to run, we’d
round up some rowdies and bring ‘m to you lot wait’n in nice spot an we’d be all over ‘m like ticks on a terrier… or we can keep ram’n an a’ root’n…thaats up to you lot